


Lucky Clover

by mrtonguetwister



Series: The Forty-Four: Umbrella Academy [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: thewarningforviolenceisforviolencejustlikeintheshow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:46:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 92,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27769258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrtonguetwister/pseuds/mrtonguetwister
Summary: "My story began with the end of the world, and it somehow got worse."~~~Clove Thindrel was one of the miracle babies born on October 1, 1989. She calls herself the Lucky Clover, but her life has been anything but. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, she finds herself stuck in the apocalypse with her only hope waiting in the old comic book tucked in her pocket. There, she finds an unlikely friend in another unfortunate kid with superpowers; Number Five.To stop the end of the world, Clove and Five will have to go to immeasurable lengths. Perhaps the hardest part of all will be rounding up the world's most dysfunctional family. Add broken relationships and two assassins on top of that, and you have just another day in the life of The Umbrella Academy.~~~The Forty-Four: Book One
Series: The Forty-Four: Umbrella Academy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079528
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	1. What I Lack In Good Decision Making Skills, I Make Up For In Audacity

In the twelfth hour of October 1, 1989, forty-four women around the world gave birth. This should not be peculiar in any way. Thousands of women around the world gave birth that day, several hundred at the exact same hour. These births were special only in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant just moments before.

These births attracted the attention of one eccentric billionaire. One man named Reginald Hargreeves, for reasons he would never make clear, understood immediately what these births would mean. He set to purchasing as many of these extraordinary children as he possibly could. He adopted seven of them, and he came for the eighth.

He was too late.

I was one of these children but I never knew it. I showed up on the steps of a convent, screaming and sobbing but without any companions. There were no nametags, no birthdate, no cradle, not even a blanket. Just a tiny baby screaming louder as loudly as her tiny lungs would allow her. The nuns say my mother sat me on the stoop and abandoned me there. She left me without a single inkling of who I might be, she didn't even give me a name.

So, I did it for her. In a way, my name was always written on my body. A large spot in the shape of a four-leaf clover took over my entire left bicep up to my shoulder. That's where I got my name; Clove, the Lucky Clover. I always believed that spot brought me good luck, after all, how could someone not be lucky when they had a permanent four-leaf clover as part of their body?

The nuns used to tell me I was an extraordinary child, and that's why I was never adopted. I never understood why all the other kids in the orphanage got to go out in the yard when it was adoption day while I had to stay in the girl's room. They always told me an extraordinary child needed extraordinary parents, and, one day, I would find those who would want me. Those who, as the nuns would say, could handle me.

When they found me, it took the nuns hours just to get a hold of me. From what they described, some sort of force was keeping them from touching me. They claimed it to be divine intervention, as if the Lord himself were shielding me from the nuns' grasp. Only when I got older did I learn nothing about me was holy, and the divine had abandoned me long before I showed up on that stoop. It took them hours to calm me down enough for the shield to vanish.

I was special. Extraordinary. God had special plans for me, they would say, and, one day, I would figure out what those plans were. I never believed them, especially not when the convent finally shut down.

It was always on the verge of collapsing. Nuns left everyday until the only people left were Mother Superior and me. I remember the last day the convent remained open. In the distance, I could hear construction work taking place to widen the short dirt road that had quickly become a major thoroughfare. It wouldn't be long until the same construction took over the convent, and I would be abandoned once again. Mother Superior and I sat side-by-side on the porch, watching the sun set for the last time.

"This is it, Clove," Mother Superior sighed, "All good things must come to an end."

Rather than see her beloved convent shut down, Mother Superior died. I found her the next morning, cold and hard in her bed, having passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her rosary was wrapped around her hands tightly and a relaxed smile was plastered on her face.

That was it for me. Rather than enter the foster system I had heard horror stories about, I packed up what little I owned and I left the convent. Since that day, I've been on my own. I've bounced from homeless shelters, bridges, boxes, and abandoned train cars all around the city. I never had a home before, and this was no different. In a way, I always had been homeless and I just started embracing it.

My entire world changed when I found the comic book. Someone had thrown it out, and it barely stuck out from the dumpster. What caught my eye was the black umbrella drawn in the corner. I climbed onto a crate and pulled the comic book out.

"The Umbrella Academy," I breathed.

Six children stood on the front cover. I would never forget it, it was the six members of The Umbrella Academy posing after a successful mission at the Eiffel tower. I studied them, all of them, in their dark blue blazers with matching shorts and a skirt. Their domino masks that completely hid their eyes despite their real identities being known to the public. I remember all of their dazzling smiles, trained into them since birth and practically carved into their faces.

Only when I started reading the comic book did my entire worldview change. Those six children, given numbers instead of names, were like me. They had superpowers, just like me. They were extraordinary just like the nuns told me I was. From the moment I picked up that comic book, I knew I wasn't alone. I had never been alone, it just took time to find the others like me. 

Number One had super strength, he could throw the bad guys across the room while Number Two manipulated the trajectory of knives to hit each bad guy in all the right places. Number Three could tell a rumor and suddenly that rumor would become true, making reality and the human conscious bend to her will no matter what that will might be. Number Four could talk to the dead while Number Five jumped through time and space on a whim. Number Six, seemingly the most tortured of all, never left a mission without blood covering his entire body. The monsters that hid under his skin made sure of it.

They were like me, extraordinary kids in an ordinary world. Most of all, they were a family, and that is all I longed for. I knew I had to find them, I had to get to them. They were like me and, in the bottom of my heart, I knew they would accept me as one of their own. I was the lucky one, The Lucky Clover.

Getting from Quebec City to America when you were a thirteen-year-old without any papers, identification, or money proved to be a difficulty in and of itself. Technically, I didn't exist, and people didn't take kindly to phantoms lurking about. I had learned to steal and pickpocket from an early age, as that was the only way I could survive on the streets that were frozen half the year. I needed a train ticket, and the only way I could get it was to steal for it.

Pick pocketing was easy once you got the hang of it. You bump into someone, feigning apology when you really slip your hand into their pocket and take out their money. If you're lucky, they'll smile at you and tell you to have a wonderful day. If you're a little less lucky, they'll yell at you and force you to run away with the wallet they didn't know you stole. All in all, it was an easy trade.

I stuck my hands in my pockets, whistling as I wandered down the street looking for easy targets. The spring air was only just starting to get warmer and you could still see faint traces of ice on all the streets. Most people were still bundled in their winter coats and boots, making it even easier to slip my hand in their pocket. With all that insulation, they didn't even feel a thing.

That day was going to be more eventful than I expected. As I rounded the corner, I came upon a welcome sight. A man had his back turned to me as he ordered donuts at the nearby stand. His blue suit was wrinkled and he somewhat stuck out in a sea of coats and jackets. Sitting right next to his abnormally shined shoes was a large briefcase left practically unattended.

The man didn't have a single eye on that briefcase. It just sat there, out in the open, as if waiting for me. The leather briefcase was as big as my torso and twice as thick. The locks on top were large but agile, they would click open easily.

There was no telling what would be in there, but I knew it had to be good. Perhaps it was filled with just the right amount of money I needed for a train ticket to America, or perhaps it was filled with food or warm clothes. Shivering in my thin clothes I got last summer, I didn't really care. It wouldn't do me any good getting to The Umbrella Academy frozen or half starved. At this rate, I would die before I got there and everything I had done would be for nothing. 

I decided that, whatever was in that briefcase, it could help me. Crossing the street, I pulled my hands from my pockets and took a deep breath. I had stolen many times before but nothing this big. Most of what I took were spare bills or loose change, perhaps the loaf of bread here and there. Never a briefcase of this magnitude. Squeezing my eyes shut, I told myself it was worth it. This might be my only chance to get to The Umbrella Academy.

I surged forward, doing my best to blend into the thin crowd. I plastered a smile on my face and walked with a spring in my step. To anyone around me, I was just a normal kid despite my eye zeroing in on the unattended briefcase.

The moment came. I was practically on top of the briefcase when I smoothly picked it up without ever changing my pace. The briefcase was surprisingly heavy, I nearly stumbled as I lifted it but I quickly corrected myself. I hugged the briefcase to my chest and began to walk away as if nothing happened.

"My briefcase!" the man screamed when I was several yards away, "Hey! Little girl! Give me back my briefcase!"

I glanced over my shoulder just long enough to see the man's bright red face and eyes full of fury. His hand was stuffed in his pocket grabbing something as he began to sprint towards me. I refused to give him any sort of a head start and began to sprint away too.

I've got to hand it to this man, he was fast. He managed to be just on my tail the entire way and I had spent my entire life running. The entire time, he shouted for me and kept saying, "Don't make me do this, kid!"

I don't know what he was referring to and I planned never to figure out. My lungs were burning, my muscles shriveling in on themselves, and I couldn't feel my feet anymore but I pressed on. It felt like air was refusing to enter my lungs and I huffed and puffed, desperately gulping for air that would never come. By the time I turned the corner, I could've sworn my entire throat had closed.

I spun the corner on my heel and almost immediately tripped. One of the manhole covers was just ever so slightly raised higher than the ground and that caught my toe. I held a tight grip on the briefcase as I went down, pressing my elbows into the sides to keep it sturdy. Before I hit the ground, I heard a click and a bright blue light overtook my closed eyes.

The world was completely silent when I hit the ground. I was still clutching the briefcase to my chest with my eyes squeezed shut. At any moment, I expected the man to grab me and turn me into the police. I would be turned into the foster system I had been desperately avoiding for the past five years. After a few minutes, however, nothing came. Nobody grabbed me, nobody screamed at me, nothing.

Slowly, as if scared, I opened my eyes. The first thing I registered was that it was the middle of the night despite being noon just moments before. Relaxing my grip on the briefcase, I sat up straight and glanced around.

I was still in the same alley but something was- different. I couldn't quite place my finger on what but something was definitely different. More lights lined the streets than there had been before and the only people nearby were the few club goers walking down the street across from me. It felt like the buildings were much taller and cleaner than they had been before, but it was too dark to tell. The entire world felt warmer, much too warm for late spring in Quebec. Something was off just enough to alert my senses and make every hair on my body stand up, but not enough to identify exactly what was wrong. 

Blinking, I glanced down at the briefcase and back up to the street. Something was definitely wrong but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what. The lights seemed brighter and the air seemed warmer, but I thought I just hit my head. No, something else was wrong, like I had fallen through a mirror and was suddenly in a dimension where everything was different. In the back of my mind, I wondered if I had somehow died running away from that man. Perhaps he shot me and I was too full of adrenaline to notice. 

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the same Umbrella Academy comic I had been carrying around for four years. It held all my money in it and I quickly flipped through it to see it was all exactly where I left it. Stuffing my comic back in my pocket, I blinked rapidly. At least one thing was familiar when not even I felt familiar.

I pushed the briefcase away with my foot and slowly stood up. Everything felt strange, I wasn't entirely sure what to do now. My mind began to run through a million explanations from the idea that the man had superpowers like me to the briefcase being the super powered one. Not a single one made sense, and there was no way to find an answer because, at that moment, a loud boom shook the entire world.

People began to scream and I fell to my knees. My skinned knee became a lesser problem as the screams got louder and more booms erupted. Another loud boom shook the world and I fell on my shoulder to gaze at the sky.

All I saw was bright orange flames. I didn't know where they were coming from or what happened, but the fire was taking up the entire sky. Debris started raining down, turning the sky black and extinguishing all the stars. Bits of rock and trash rained from the sky as more booms filled the air. I rushed out onto the streets where the club goers were running around in a desperate panic.

Whatever had hit Earth was coming down at rapid speeds. It took up the entire sky leaving no room for a dramatic escape. One last boom shook the world even more, making me fall onto my bottom in the middle of the street. A huge dark mass surrounded by flames was coming and it was coming fast. Without a single target in sight, it covered the sky and had the entire world on its kill list.

Everything moved so fast. Buildings crumbled, people screamed, the world shook, but I could only stare. As the mass got closer, the last thought on my mind was; "What the Hell did that briefcase do?"

The mass was just about to hit when I flung up my hands to brace for impact. A familiar electric buzzing coursed through my veins as the entire world exploded around me. As the mass hit, the world crumbled and quaked, launching me up into the sky. Through it all, I managed to keep a tight grip on my force field so nothing ever touched me. The quakes launched me into the sky and I came down with a large thud.

That was the last thing I remember.

I woke up to an absolute wasteland. The first thing I registered was the rocks scattered all around me. I was in the middle of a large hole exactly the size of my force field. Miraculously, it was still solid and only fell when I sat up and rubbed my head. Whatever hit Quebec City crumbled around the force field and left me completely unscathed.

I came out of the impact completely unharmed, but I can't say the same for the rest of the world. Only when I climbed out from the hole I made did I see how bad it really was. When I finally pulled myself onto the top, I nearly fell right back in. 

The world was absolutely decimated. Charred bodies littered the wasteland I stood at. They were all covered in ash, the same sort that was still falling from the ever present gray clouds permanently coating the world. Every building that hadn't been completely turned to dust was on fire, and even the ruins of most buildings were still burning. The very air itself became difficult to breath and I quickly had to cover my mouth with my jacket.

Everything was destroyed. Just by looking at Quebec City, I knew the rest of the world didn't look much better. There was no way something of that scale, with that level of destruction, left a single corner of the world untouched. The nuns always said the world would end in fire, I just couldn't believe I was there to see it.

Debris crunched under my feet as I walked through what had once been a thriving city. A red bandana had been snagged on a broken light post, and I was quick to tie it around my nose and mouth. The air was difficult to breath in and I felt like my lungs were slowly being coated in ash.

I still didn't understand what happened. Maybe an asteroid, an explosion, or even an act of war. Everything had gone so fast and it was still so dark, I couldn't tell what was happening before it happened. Now, I was the last one left alive in an apocalyptic wasteland and I didn't know what to do about it.

Maybe not the last one. My eyes widened as I quickly dug in my pocket. Staring at the cover of the Umbrella Academy comic, I realized I might not be the last one left alive. If anyone were to survive the literal apocalypse, it was a group of super powered children. I had survived, why couldn't they?

"Maybe not the last one," I muttered.

They had to have survived, they just had to. They were my last hope and I was determined to get to them. It was clear a train was out of the question, as was a plane or even a car. I would have to get to them on foot, and it might take awhile, but they were my last hope. Rolling up the comic, I stuffed it into my pocket and began to make my way South to, what I hoped, were more survivors.

My story began with the end of the world, and this is how it somehow got even worse.


	2. Howdy Do, Fellow Kids

It took me an entire year to get to the Umbrella Academy. The only way I could keep track was marking off the days and nights in a journal I found in a crumpled bookstore. It was torn in half and saturated, but it served its purpose well. The tally marks blurred together much like everyday did in the hellish apocalypse landscape.

The trip nearly killed me before the apocalypse ever did. It began with the air, thick as the ash that fell in it and filled with noxious gases. If I wasn't inhaling ash, I was inhaling gas, and I could feel it taking a toll on my body. Eventually, I stopped noticing the burning in my chest and I forgot what it felt like to take a deep breath.

Food was practically impossible to find. Not only were humans wiped out, but animals were too. There wasn't a single living thing left in the world except for me, some cockroaches, and hopefully six super powered kids like me. My best chance at survival was to scavenge what little was left in the ruins of stores, and even that was practically poisoned. The best meals I could find were the cockroaches that ran under my boot, and those did nothing to fill me up. 

Water was another question. Most was gone, the rest was poisoned. I managed to find the last stream in Canada and filled as many bottles as I could find. It wasn't much, the water tasted like lead and I always felt sick at night, but it kept me alive.

By the time I made it to the Umbrella Academy, I was an entirely different person. I had bundled as much as I could with whatever I could find. I always expected the end of the world to be boiling hot, but it was exactly the opposite. Everyday was cold and every night was colder. I found a thick leather jacket that acted more like a dress, thick boots two sizes too big, and even a stocking cap that was so long it doubled as a scarf. At one of the airports I passed, I found an old pair of aviators goggles by a crashed plane that were perfect for keeping the ash out of my eyes. The goggles often slipped past my eyes and I had to tighten the straps with a piece of string, but they saved my eyes. 

My skin had become more ash than flesh, and I was a permanent sickly gray color. Even my hair, once chestnut, had turned gray and I had long since given up washing it. I was a walking, ashy, skeleton always on the verge of death, but I pressed on.

When I made it to the city, I couldn't help but giggle. I was so close, I could feel it. They would be there, I just knew it. At the end of every Umbrella Academy comic was a map of the city and the location of The Umbrella Academy. Using that map, I found my way to the very middle of the city where the academy was.

What I found was not what I expected. Instead of the only building left standing in a wasteland, I was met with ruins that matched every one I had seen for the past year. No miracle on thirty-fourth street, just a building that had been victim to the same tragedy as its brothers and sisters.

"No," I whispered, dropping my bag on the ground, "No- no it can't be."

I climbed one of the ruined walls and gazed over the academy. There, lying among the ruins, were skeletons. All that was left were a few skulls and small bones, but I knew who they were. Not just anybody would die in The Umbrella Academy, except those who were raised there.

"No," I fell onto my bottom at the base of the ruins, "No, no, no! You were my last chance- my last chance."

I pulled my knees to my face and began to sob. It was official, I was the last one left. The Umbrella Academy was my last hope and they were all dead, just like I should be. They were gone, my only hope was gone, and now I was all alone.

My sobs were the only sound for miles upon miles. They were carried by the wind to ears that no longer existed in a world that wasn't too far behind. It was the end of the world, and the last person on Earth curled into a ball and sobbed.

A soft crash from behind me made me jump. I quickly flipped around, jumping onto one knee and raising my hands instinctively. When I laid eyes on the source of the sound, I nearly fell backwards in glee.

A boy my age stood in front of me. He had dropped the handle of his red wagon, which made the crash. The wagon was filled with various tools, foodstuff, water jugs, and a single mannequin with dirt across her face and a missing arm.

The boy simply stared at me for a moment. He was dressed exactly as I was; bundled head to toe with a hat covering his entire head and aviator's goggles to keep out the ash. He stood like he couldn't decide whether he was a proud kid who grew up much too fast and was much too eager to be the best of the best, or a terrified child who just wanted to go home despite there not being a home to go to. For a moment, he just stood there, neither of us dared to move a muscle as we were scared the other would somehow vanish. We were perfect cardboard cutouts, frozen in an equally frozen wasteland. 

He held up his hands instinctively too as we stared at each other. The wind roared, ruined wood cracked, but we didn't move. After so long of thinking I was the only one left, and having my last hope ripped away from me, I had a hard time processing he was real.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, raising my hands higher.

He copied my motions, "Me? Who the Hell are you?!"

"I asked you first."

"I don't care, just answer the question."

"Not until you do."

The boy clenched his fists, "An entire year in the apocalypse thinking I was the last one alive, forgive me if I don't start sobbing after seeing you."

"Oh, boo hoo, I've been here too."

"Really?" the boy scoffed, "Then, how come I haven't seen you?"

"I was in Quebec City, or did you forget there was more world outside of your superstar city?" I demanded.

The boy frowned. In reality, I was absolutely ecstatic to see another living human, but, after so long alone, I was on edge. Perhaps I was hallucinating the entire thing, or maybe he is what caused the apocalypse. Somehow, I knew he couldn't have done that, he was just one kid. Then again, how does one kid survive the apocalypse?

"Of course I remember," the boy wrinkled his nose, "There isn't much of a world left anymore."

I shook my head, "There isn't one here either."

For another long moment, we just stared at each other. The boy twitched and flung his head back to glare at the mannequin, "I'm not being rude, she's being rude!"

"I am not being rude, you were rude first!" I exclaimed.

The boy ignored me, still staring at the mannequin. I tilted my head in confusion. Was he actually listening to her? Oddly, that was the least weirdest thing about all this.

"Fine, Dolores, of course you're right again," I just knew he was rolling his eyes despite the fact that I couldn't see them as he turned to face me, "Why did you come here all the way from Quebec City?"

I frowned, "I came to look for The Umbrella Academy."

"The Umbrella Academy," he breathed, "Why? What do you want with them?"

He lowered his fists if ever so slightly. Clenching mine tighter, I frowned deeply, "Not that it's any of your business, but they're like me. I figured, if anyone survived, it was them."

Until I got here and all of my hopes were ripped from my cold hands. I might as well have died with the blast if the Umbrella Academy weren't here to help me.

"They're like you?" the boy asked.

"Super powered," I answered, "That's how I survived the apocalypse."

"You have super powers?"

"Yes, we've covered this, you know I'm beginning to wonder how you survived."

The boy glanced back at his mannequin before sighing. He reached up and took off his glasses and his hat, revealing the real boy beneath. When I saw him, I gasped.

"The Umbrella Academy is dead," the boy explained, "Except for me. I survived because I have abilities too. Super powers."

My hands flew to my mouth, "Number Five!"

"Just Five."

I jumped to my feet and flung up my hands to rip off my hat and glasses, "You're alive! I knew I couldn't be the only one!"

"Wait, hold on," Five raised his hands to stop my excitement, "I still don't know who you are or what you can do."

I stuck out my hand to him, "The name's Clove Thindrel, pleasure to meet you."

"Really?" Five asked as he shook my hand, "You were just yelling at me two seconds ago."

"To be fair, you were yelling at me first."

"Touche."

I smiled brightly before slowly letting it fall, "Wait- how did you survive but not the rest of the Academy?"

"Time travel," Five shoved his hat back on his head, "I jumped forward in time, to after the apocalypse, and they had already died in it."

I didn't even stop to ask how far in the future he time traveled. It never once occurred to me that, maybe, just maybe, I had accidentally time traveled too. That was so far off my radar I didn't even think twice about it, but I would very soon.

"Well, Clove, how did you end up in the end of the world?" Five asked.

I shrugged, "I made a force field."

"A what?"

"A force field," I repeated, "A shield made of energy I controlled with my mind."

Five was silent for a minute. Slowly, a grin spread across his face, "That's pretty badass."

"Not as badass as time travel," I smiled, "I thought I was the only one who survived out of sheer dumb luck."

Five laughed. He gazed at me, looking me up and down as if making sure I was, in fact, real, "What made you come here?"

"I told you," I placed my hands on my hips and tilted my head, "To find The Umbrella Academy."

"Why? Did you think we could stop the apocalypse, because I have bad news for you, the rest of my family tried and they- well, it didn't work out for them let's say that," Five hesitated as if, if he didn't say his family had died, it wouldn't be true. 

"No- well maybe- I don't know," I kicked the dirt slightly and sighed, "I just- I figured, if anyone could survive the apocalypse, it would be you and your siblings. I didn't-I didn't want to be alone anymore."

I said the last part quietly, barely even a whisper. Five leaned forward ever so slightly as if he wanted to step closer but couldn't bring himself to do so. As I kept my gaze on the dirt, Five kept his gaze on me, a million thoughts clearly flying past his eyes. His attention was suddenly diverted as he glanced back at Dolores, "I know, yes of course. You're right."

"Uh," I leaned to glance around him, "What did she say?"

Five turned to me and smiled, "We're the last two people left on Earth. What's say we stick it out together, Clove?"

"Three of us against the world?" I grinned.

Five glanced back at Dolores before turning back to me, "Three of us against the world."

"I'd like that very much."

I grabbed my backpack while Five grabbed his wagon. Together, we walked off into the apocalypse. The most unlikely trio of two super powered kids who survived on dumb luck alone and a mannequin against the world. It was just us, it would only ever be us, but at least we didn't have to face the end alone.


	3. T For Trauma

Three Years Later

Fire crackled, giving the world the only source of light left at night. Clouds had long since blocked off the moon and stars, it was almost as if they weren't there at all. Sometimes I forget they ever were in the first place. I forgot what the sun felt like long before the clouds ever parted. 

Five did his best to get the fire as strong as he could make it. His eyebrows were knit in worry, slowly glancing from the fire and back up at me. Even behind his goggles, I could sense his worry.

We had found an old, ruined, library to take refuge in. I was curled up in the corner where two ruined green walls met, shivering and sniffling. Five had piled every single blanket we owned on top of me but it did nothing to make me warmer. Not even the fire seemed to penetrate the cold seeping into my very bones.

It was the first time one of us had gotten sick in the apocalypse and neither of us knew how it was going to end. Without any medicine or way to get warm, and a limited supply of food and clean water, there wasn't much we could do. I just had to hope it would go away on it's own.

My very bones seemed to ache, and the rest of me wasn't much better off. I was boiling hot to the touch but I felt freezing cold at the same time. Pulling the blankets tightly around me, I curled in an even tighter ball and sneezed.

"Why won't this thing get any stronger?" Five threw the stick he was using to stoke the fire into the flames.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as he watched the last stick we had burn. Pulling my mouth out of the blankets for just a moment, I said, "'m fine, Five, honestly."

"You're not fine," Five stood and walked around the fire, "You're sick."

He sat down next to me and pulled his knees up. Scooting closer, I rested my head on his shoulder and sniffled, "It's justa cold."

"Colds can be deadly," Five felt my forehead and shook his hand off when he brought it back, "Especially when they're a bit more than that."

I pulled the blankets tighter around me and sniffled. Five pulled off his jacket and laid it over the top of my blankets. The jacket itself didn't do much, but the gesture warmed me from the inside out. Five knitted his eyebrows in worry and quickly pulled his flask from his jacket pocket, "Here, drink this."

"Don't want it," I grumbled.

He held the flask to my lips, "Clove, please, you'll die if you don't drink."

Glancing up, I saw his worried eyes through my blurry vision and sighed. I weakly took the flask from him and took the smallest sip. When he looked at me pointedly, I took a larger sip and handed the flask back. He set it to the side, "Thank you."

We stared at the fire for a few moments. Five kept glancing at Dolores, his eyebrows twisting and his face moving as it often did when she was speaking to him. I kept my gaze on the fire, watching each individual spark fly up in the sky and promptly vanish. For the few scarce moments the sparks were in the sky, I could believe the stars came back.

"Five," I mumbled.

He glanced down at me, "Yes, Clove?"

"Will you tell me a story?" all my words were slurred together as I curled into an even tighter ball, "About life before the end of the world."

Five frowned, "I don't tell stories."

"I might die, Five."

"Don't say that," his voice was barely a whisper.

""M sorry," I glanced up at him, "I won't die, you're stuck with me."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He smiled at me before turning his gaze to the fire. Sighing, he said, "I suppose I could tell a story this one time."

"Goody!"

Five smiled. For a moment, he just stared at the fire. I couldn't tell if he was searching for a story to tell or searching for one he didn't mind telling.

"We were all born on the same day; October 1, 1989," A small smile grew across his lips as he spoke, "There were seven of us, all with names and numbers."

"Except for you," I sniffled.

Five nodded, "Except for me, I preferred my number. The rest, they liked names. First, there was Luther. He was Number One and stronger than ten men. Number Two was Diego, he could throw knives with precise, and deadly, accuracy. I took one of his knives once and I've still got the scar to show for it."

I snorted as Five offered up a chuckle. Gazing at the stars, he continued, "Number Three was Allison. She could rumor anyone do do anything and manipulate reality just by lying. Number Four was Klaus, he could talk to the dead. Number Five, well-"

"That's you," I giggled.

"That's me," Five laughed, "Number Six was Ben. He could access another dimension under his skin and tentacles would come out to kill all his enemies."

"Gruesome," I mumbled.

Five shook his head, "You have no idea. Now, Number Seven was Vanya. She was normal. Born on the same day as us, raised in the same house, but without any powers."

"She's the one that wrote the book?" I asked.

Five glanced at his wagon where a single book sat on the very top. He had found Extraordinary by Vanya Hargreeves on the very first day we found the library a year ago. For an entire day, he wouldn't talk to me because he was so busy reading it. After that, he would often read it out loud to feel closer to his family. It made me feel close to them too despite never having met them.

"She wrote the book," Five's voice contains nostalgia shrouded with deep depression, "We were all adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, and he made us into The Umbrella Academy. He swore we were meant to one day save the world, and maybe we were. It just didn't work out so well for us."

I glanced up at him, "Maybe it will the second time."

"What?"

"The second time," I gestured to the chalkboard.

A few mathematical equations I never understood but Five swore up and down made sense were scrawled on what was left of the chalkboard. Five had been desperately trying to piece together the right equation that would trigger his time travel abilities to transport us back just days before the apocalypse. If he could do it, and I fully believed he could, we would be back in time to stop the apocalypse, save the world, and save his family.

"Maybe it will the second time," Five sighed, "I have to figure out the equations first."

I giggled, "I know you will."

We were silent for another few moments. I could tell Five was deep in thought, his eyes never left the equation. Closing my eyes, I asked, "What about your mother?"

"My mother," Five sighed, "Was the best of us. Never once did I see her stop smiling, and she had to deal with Luther and Diego."

"And you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been dealing with you for three years," I sniffled, "I have sympathy for your mother."

Five rolled his eyes as I weakly laughed. Smiling up at him, I said, "And I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Except maybe the apocalypse part," Five added.

"Except that. Either way, if I had to survive the apocalypse with someone, I'm glad it's you."

Five smiled as I closed my eyes once again. Shifting himself so he was more comfortable, Five continued, "My mother, her name was Grace, was always smiling. She was always there with kindness, patience, and compassion. She would comfort us when we had a nightmare and she would give us love when our father had none for us. She was the reason we kept surviving in that house."

I smiled, "What about Pogo?"

"Pogo was the most loyal person I had ever met," Five explained, "He was unfalteringly loyal to our father, and I know he was until his dying breath. Despite this, he never once treated us poorly. He would sometimes sneak us cookies after Father made us go to bed without desert."

I giggled, "I like Pogo."

"We all did," Five sighed, "You never told me about your life."

"Didn't have one."

"Obviously you did, you're living."

"That doesn't mean I had a life," I sniffled, "My Mum abandoned me before she could even give me a name, that's why I got named Clove."

"Because of your birthmark," Five breathed.

I nodded, "It makes me lucky, you know."

"Lucky? Clove, you got stuck in the apocalypse."

"And then I found you and Dolores," I retorted, "See, lucky. My Mum abandoned me at a convent and they thought the Lord was protecting me through my force fields. Because of that, they never let me get adopted and I ran away when the convent shut down when I was eight. After that, I was on my own until I met you."

Five didn't respond for a moment. When I glanced up at him, he was smiling, "When I figure out the equations and get us back, maybe you can come join my family."

"Really?" I gasped.

"Really," Five chuckled, "There's already seven of us, I doubt Father will notice one more."

I began to laugh, which quickly turned into a hacking cough. Five handed me the flask and, this time, I gratefully sipped the water. When I finished, I was even weaker before. I rested my head against his shoulder and smiled weakly with my eyes shut, "I'd like that very much."

"Me too," Five repositioned the blankets over me, "Get some rest, Clove, before you get any sicker."

I snuggled down in the blankets and hummed, "Will you tell me another story?"

"I suppose so," Five leaned back and smiled, "It all began when The Umbrella Academy heard about a bank robbery."


	4. A Guide to Giving Up

Five Years Later

The day the clouds parted was the day we had a party. Five, Dolores, and I spent the entire day drinking flat coca cola and dancing to music only we could hear. Gray clouds made of ash and smoke had covered the sky for so long I had forgotten the brilliant blue it used to be. The first morning we saw it, both of us cried, and Five never cried.

Everyday since, I never forget to look at the sky. You never realize how little you look up before you don't have the option anymore. Now that the sun was back and the clouds were slowly turning white again, I took every chance I could to feel the sun on my skin and see the brilliant blue of the sky.

Taking in a deep breath of air that was slowly losing it's stench of sulfur, I sighed deeply and stood up on the ruins of what was once a wall. It was scavenging day, the day Five and I went to separate areas of the city to search for whatever food was left. We had started scavenging near the library, but, as time went on, we had to spread our searching grounds. I had to go all the way to the edge of town in order to find the last can of beans in the city.

Night was just beginning to fall whenever I made it to the library. Every time the sun went down, I found myself staring at the sky and biting my lip, "Please come back tomorrow."

Firelight flickered on the remaining walls of the library. They were slowly losing their green hue, but I would always know they were there. If I focused, I could imagine the life that once roamed the now ruined halls. Smiling, I stepped into the place I called home only to hear a loud crack followed by a scream.

Five stood in front of the chalkboard with his hands buried in his scraggly hair. A wine stain was slowly growing over the chalkboard and shattered glass was scattered over the ground. He was still shaking from throwing the wine bottle. More empty bottles were haphazardly spread on the ground, abandoned and forgotten.

"Five?" I whispered.

The man in question spun around. His eyes were wide and confused, but drowsy as well. Every move he made was slow, yet still clumsy. It wasn't difficult to see he was absolutely plastered and getting drunker. Smiling, he flung up his hands, "Clove! You're back!"

"You're drunk," I sat my backpack by our beds, "How did you get drunk?"

Five giggled, "I-I found a wine cellar- untouched."

"And so you drank it?"

"And so I drank it!"

Five cackled and turned back to the chalkboard. I glanced at Dolores and sighed, rolling my eyes. Five took a swing of another wine bottle and laughed.

"What're you doing, Five?" I stepped up to stand next to him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he moved his head on his neck as if it were dead weight, "I'm day drinking."

"Why?"

Five took another swing of the bottle, "Makes it easier."

For a moment, I simply stared at him. Watching my only friend in the world, my dearest friend in the world, get so drunk he forgot himself was painful. It didn't make me angry, it didn't make me upset, it made me hurt for my friend and what he was going through.

"It's our birthday today," Five mumbled, "At least, I think it is."

He glanced at one of the walls outside of our little square. We had been using it as a calendar, marking down the days to keep track of how long we've been there and what date it might be. The last tally mark was scratched out and circled furiously.

"I failed them," Five muttered.

Tears began to hang in his eyes like cobwebs in the corners of abandoned rooms. Without even thinking, I stepped in front of him and gently took his hands in mine. Tilting my head, I made him look me in the eyes as I smiled in a comforting manner, "You didn't fail anyone, Five."

"They're dead," Five mumbled, "All of them, if I had been there-"

"You couldn't have done any better. They didn't know what was coming, and you wouldn't have either," I spoke in a low voice.

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. I gently pushed his chin up so he would look at me, "How could you have failed them when you've spent every day of the last nine years trying to get back to them? To save them?"

"It isn't working," Five mumbled.

"Maybe not yet, but that doesn't mean it won't ever work," I smiled at him, "I've never seen a love as strong as the love you have for your siblings, and I have no doubt it's returned in full force. It's because of that love that you could never fail them."

Five finally let the tears pour freely from his eyes. I pulled him into a hug, allowing him to bury his face in my shoulder and tightly wrap his arms around my chest. He shook as I held him, trying his best to hold in his sobs but letting them out in the long run. I gently rubbed his back and hummed deep in my throat.

"I-I miss them," Five sniffled.

I squeezed him tighter, "Missing them, even after all this time, just shows how much you love them."

"I never stop thinking about them," Five squeezed my chest and shuddered, "Everyday, I think about them. I think about seeing their bodies, and I think about getting back to them."

"It's that very determination that will get you back to them. It isn't over yet, Five, and it won't be over for a very long time. You will see them again. We'll get back to the past, stop the apocalypse, and you can be with your family once and for all."

Five tightly gripped my chest and shuddered, allowing a few sobs to escape his body. I held him tightly as he did, rubbing his back in the most comforting act I could think of. For several minutes, we stood in silence, the only sounds were the sounds of his cries and my gentle humming. I would've stayed like that all night and the next day if that's what he needed.

Ultimately, Five pulled away. He wiped his eyes and smiled at me, a goofy crooked sort of smile people usually get when they're drunk, "You'll come with me, right?"

"Of course I will," I squeezed his hands, "You're stuck with me, remember?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Five smiled. I tilted my head and grinned, "Now, let's get you to bed so you can sleep off the alcohol."

"I'm not drunk," his words barely made sense as I pushed him towards his cot.

"Sure," I rolled my eyes, "And my name isn't Clove. Go to bed, Five."

"You're not my Mom."

"And you're not a child yet here we are."

He fell on the bed and stuck his tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes as he laid down and curled up on his side. He was asleep before I could pull the blankets over him. Taking his hat off and setting it on the ground next to him, I turned to Dolores and smiled, "What a weird little family we make, eh Dolores?"

She never responded.


	5. That Was A Lot Easier Than Expected

Thirty-Seven Years Later

Growing old in the apocalypse was a whole lot different than growing old in the world. Five and I didn't have the experiences everyone has growing up, but we quickly learned we didn't need them. We did our own bits of growing up at our own pace. In a way, we became a lot more genuine than we would have in a world filled with peer pressure and societal roles. We found our own identities, the definitions of asexual and aromantic being some of the last words left in a dictionary tucked deep in the library's ruins. We were able to grow into ourselves, the truest versions of ourselves, with only each other to share it with.

We grew up, we grew old, and we did it together. Five, Dolores, and me against the world while trying our best to work along with it. The grass came back, the trees began to grow again, and we began to grow with them. We grew up a lot more genuine, but also a lot more lost and afraid. In order to survive, we had to grow up fast, and that was terrifying.

I crouched next to the stack of provisions and groaned. My knees weren't what they used to be in my youth, especially with all the running around we had to do. Just the slightest crouch made them ache and crack in ways I couldn't know were natural or not.

I dug in one of our rescued Umbrella Academy lunch boxes for potatoes to cook. We had gathered every single piece of Umbrella Academy merchandise we could possibly find. Most were tattered and ruined, you could barely tell who was on it, but that wasn't what mattered. I think the merchandise bearing the images of his family comforted Five, in a way. It was a sort of symbol, saying they were never as far away as they seemed, even if it had been forty-five years since he last saw them.

When I stood, I let out a loud groan followed by a stiff grunt. Five grinned devilishly and looked over his shoulder at me, "You're getting old, Clove."

"And you're so much better off," I rolled my eyes.

Five laughed as he reached up high to reach the line of calculations he was working on. His calculations meant to get us home had grown far beyond the salvaged chalkboard and moved to every wall left standing. He had covered the walls front, back, upside down, and right side up. Not a single inch of the wall was left uncovered, and he still needed more room.

Those calculations were what kept us both going. They gave us hope that, one day, we would get back and we would get back together. Even if it took a century to figure out, we would finally get out of this barren wasteland and back where we belong.

"Dolores!" Five suddenly called, "What's seven times seven?"

He paused for a minute before slapping his head, "Forty-nine, right! How could I be so stupid?"

"Hey, I'm right here, you know," I dropped the potatoes in the already boiling pot of water hanging over a fire.

Five shook his head, "Last time I asked you, you said ten times ten was one thousand and ten."

"I can't help it that I never got a formal education beyond fifth grade, Five," I teased.

Five chuckled as I began to stir the pot. Non polluted water was scarce to come by, so Five and I had built a boiling contraption long long ago. It was a simple stand made of old plywood and metal rods that held the pot above a boiling fire. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give us clean water and boiled potatoes.

Abandoning his chalk for the day, Five shifted to sit across the fire from me. I handed him a carrot, one of the few we were able to grow, and he began to chop. As he chopped, he flung carrots into the pot. The smell of potatoes and carrots soon reached my nose, making me sigh in content.

As I glanced up at Five to start a conversation, my eyes moved past him. A woman was standing on the ruins of a wall several yards away. It took me a moment to realize something was wrong. On any normal day, the only weird thing about her would be how slowly she was waving or how she never once seemed to blink as she was staring at us. This wasn't a normal day, however, this was the apocalypse. There shouldn't be a woman standing there, there shouldn't be anyone standing anywhere. Five and I were the last two people alive, and we had been for forty-five years.

"Five," my eyes widened as my entire body froze.

Five glanced up at me and quickly turned to follow my gaze. In an instant, he jumped to his feet and grabbed his shotgun. I broke out of my daze and leapt up, flinging my hands up and creating a shield between us and the new arrival. The shield shimmered blue with sparks of electricity flying over the surface every so often. It generated a low hum, the sort one would hear in industrial grade lights. There was only one, single, tiny hole in my shield just big enough for Five to stick his gun barrel through. He quickly brought the shotgun to his shoulder and shouted, "Who are you?!"

The woman gently stepped off the rock and began to approach us, making both Five and I take a step back. If the world was populated, she wouldn't pose any threat. The only way she even stood out was with her outrageous clothes and her larger than life hat. It astounded me that she could keep her white dress clean in the ash-filled wasteland she stood in. Even the black stripes and frilly undercoat were perfectly clean. Ruby red slippers clicked on the ground, a sound that was more grating than anything else. She smiled, bright red lips turning upwards in a smile that made my skin crawl.

She held a briefcase at her side while her other hand was stuffed in her pocket. She paused at the edge of our little home, right between two ruined library walls. Smiling at us, she said, "Five Hargreeves and Clove Thindrel, it is wonderful to finally meet you."

"Who are you?" I shouted.

"I'm called The Handler," the woman pushed her skirts down so she could properly sit, "And I work for an agency called The Temps Commission. We've been watching you."

"How?" Five asked.

At the exact same time, I asked, "Why?"

"Your time traveling got our attention," The Handler kicked some dust off her foot, "At first, we only saw Five here but then when you, Clove, time traveled, well, that got our attention."

I snorted, "You got the wrong girl, lady, I can't time travel. That's his thing."

I jerked my head to Five. He wrinkled his eyebrows, "That's my thing!"

"Naturally, yes, but you stole a briefcase," The Handler smiled, "Didn't you ever wonder why the world suddenly started ending? Why you were never caught?"

Five glanced down at me as my eyes widened. My mind flashed back to the day I stole a briefcase from an unsuspecting man just trying to buy a donut in downtown Quebec City. He had chased me around a corner, and I tripped. When I came back up, the man was gone and the world was ending. I never once thought I had time traveled, and I still didn't fully believe her.

"We monitor the timeline," The Handler crossed her legs, "Every inch of it. We make sure the world maintains its proper timeline and we are alerted to any time anomalies. When you both time traveled of your own accord to the exact same day, well, that got our attention for sure."

Five cocked his gun, "What do you want?"

"To offer you a deal."

"What deal?" I demanded.

"The Commission will get you, both of you, out of this wasteland in return for five years of service," The Handler stood and smiled, "After five years, you both will be permitted to retire to the timeline of your choosing. With a substantial pension, of course."

Five and I glanced at each other. The offer seemed too good to be true. So good, in fact, I didn't believe it for a single second. After years upon years in this wretched apocalyptic wasteland, and she only comes for us now? Perhaps we had finally gone insane and were hallucinating the entire thing.

"Don't you want to get out of here? To leave the apocalypse?" The Handler's smile was sickly sweet and filled with poison.

Five dropped his gun and frowned, "May we have a moment to discuss?"

"Of course," The Handler sat back down.

Five grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the opposite side of one of the walls. My shield fell in the process and I stumbled as we rounded the corner. When we stopped, I flung up my hands and whisper-shouted, "You can't honestly be considering this?!"

"What choice do we have?" Five whispered, "We've been stuck here for years, Clove, with no hopes of getting out. This might be our only change."

"But, your abilities, the calculations!"

"Have gotten us nowhere," Five placed his hands on my shoulders, "Clove, listen to me, we have to take the deal."

"This sounds sketchy, Five."

Five nodded, "I agree, but it will bid us time. We're running out of food and hardly anything grows here. There's no water and it's getting colder. If we don't leave, we will die here."

I gripped his hands and frowned. He squeezed my shoulders, sighing as he did, "I've almost got the calculations, I know it, but I need more time. This gives us our time. The moment we figure out the calculations, we can leave and stop the apocalypse."

For a moment, I just stared at him. As much as I didn't want to do it, I knew Five was right. We had no choice left in the matter. Our food was almost out and our water sources were not replenishing. Even the oceans had dried up. This was our only hope, if we didn't take it, we were going to die.

"Alright, you're right," I squeezed my eyes shut, "I still don't like it."

"I don't like it either, but it's our only choice."

We connected eyes and Five nodded. Together, we stepped beyond the wall and approached The Handler. She smiled at us as if she wasn't worried for a single second. She knew we had no room to decline, we were in her grasp and she knew it.

"Alright," Five placed his hands on his hips, "We'll take the deal."

"Both of you?" The Handler glanced at me.

I sucked in a deep breath, "Both of us."

"Wonderful!" The Handler jumped up and offered us her hand, "Come, let's not waste anytime."

Hesitantly, Five took her hand. I grabbed his hand as The Handler clicked the locks on her briefcase. A flash of blue light overcame the barren landscape, and we were gone in a flash.


	6. Successfully Evading Responsibility

One of the first things I noticed about going into the past was the air got significantly cooler. Appearing in 1963, I was instantly slapped in the face with chilly air that made me tug my coat around me tighter. Perhaps it came with getting older, or maybe it was proof that the globe does get drastically warmer overtime. Especially when you spent most of your life post-apocalypse.

Time travel in itself is a very easy thing with a briefcase. It was just a simple click of the latches and you suddenly appeared in the time of your choosing. I barely even noticed we were gone before we reappeared again. The only consequence is my eyes always became incredibly dry. As soon as we would blink into the timeline, my eyes would be dry and burning.

"I hate time travel," I muttered as I rubbed my eyes until I started crying, "One of these days, my eyes are going to pop right out of my skull."

Five handed me a handkerchief so I could wipe my face, "I told you to close your eyes."

"Time travel opens them."

Five chuckled as I handed him back his handkerchief. Blinking away the stars, I glanced at our surroundings. It wasn't the first time we had been to the sixties and I was sure it wouldn't be the last. It was the first time we came to the early sixties, however, and the style was drastically different. Men went around in stiff suits of dull colors with hats being seen as respectful to the old and prude to the young. Women matched their suits in flowy dresses with stiff tops and even stiffer shoes. They at least were willing to have a splash of color. Five and I blended right in with our commission issued suits of brown and dark blue.

People didn't even pay us a passing glance as we walked down the street. Five kept a tight grip on the time traveling briefcase while I carried the one filled with our personal belongings. It was the briefcase he carried that was the most important, that was the one that brought us here and it would be what got us out. The very first, and most important, rule of the commission was to never, under any circumstances, put down the briefcase. It was putting down the briefcase that transported thirteen-year-old children to the apocalypse.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink," Five looked around for a pub.

"That sounds lovely," I sighed, "It's been thirty years since I had a drink."

Five snorted. We had just come from the nineteen thirties, so it literally had been thirty years since I drank something. We found an Irish Pub on the corner and we didn't hesitate in going inside.

Nobody paid us even a passing glance as we sat down at the bar. I ordered two beers as Five dug his book out of the briefcase. Extraordinary, written by his sister Vanya, had been his journal ever since we left the apocalypse. It was the only thing he could bring with him, as it was in his pocket when we left. He had been scrawling endless calculations on each of its pages. They were the very same calculations he wrote all over the walls of our old library home.

"I'm so close," Five mumbled as he scratched out a fraction, "I can feel it, it's like it's on the tip of my tongue."

I plopped a straw in my drink and took a long sip, "What's stopping you?"

"I don't know, this number, it just doesn't feel right. It can't be fifty seven."

"Maybe it's actually a decimal."

Five rolled his eyes, "Leave the math to me, Clove."

"Alright, alright, I'm just saying," I raised my hands, "Dolores would agree with me."

"Don't bring her into this."

His eyes were downcast as he spoke. I rubbed his back, sipping on my drink, "We'll get back to her, Five."

"I shouldn't have left her," Five mumbled.

"It isn't your fault, it's not like The Handler gave us any time."

Five shook his head. Glancing up at me, he lifted an eyebrow, "Who drinks beer with a straw?"

"I do," I took another generous sip, "Honestly, Five, after nearly fifty years of friendship I would think you would know this about me."

Five rolled his eyes and took a big swing of his drink. The people around us kept chatting, all minding their own business having no idea that this was about to be one of the darkest days in American history. Their chatter seemed loud in my ears and made me miss the quiet of the apocalypse.

I glanced up at the clock and sputtered. Gently patting Five's shoulder, I stood and said, "We've got to go."

Five looked up at the clock as well and nodded. Slapping a five on the counter for our drinks, we collected both briefcases and casually left the pub. We began to walk down the Dallas streets towards a grassy knoll that would soon make history.

"Funny," I commented as we approached the knoll, "All this time, and we were the ones who shot Kennedy."

Five crouched on the grass and opened the briefcase, "It's not surprising, we've done a lot worse."

"All those times in history class and we were learning about ourselves all along," I took the gun barrel from Five and began putting it together.

On the opposite side of the fence, people were cheering and bands were playing. President Kennedy would roll down the streets at any moment now, and that would be our cue. We were the deadliest and stealthiest assassins in Commission history, and we were about to prove it.

As I set up the sniper rifle, Five sat on the grass and hunched over his equations once again. I focused on connecting the delicate pieces of the gun ever so gently. The clicks that came when each part popped into place was relaxing, in a sense. Sort of like the eye of a storm, the clicks always preceded something deadly. I ran my hands down the smooth metal and looked through the aiming glass with just one eye. Setting it on it's stand, I took a step back and admired my work.

"I should be a professional," I tilted my head at the rifle, "I'm getting good at this."

Five didn't even reply, he was too invested in his equations. I glanced at him and shrugged, turning back to watch for Kennedy. Pulling binoculars out of the briefcase, I began to watch the street.

"Aha!" Five suddenly shouted, "I did it!"

His shout startled me, causing me to drop the binoculars. I spun around to see Five jumping up just like he did in his youth. Waving around the book, he shouted, "I did it! Clove, I figured it out!"

"You what?"

"The calculations!" he grabbed my shoulders and laughed, "I figured them out! We can go home!"

I fell silent, my eyes wide and going dry again. It was almost too good to be true, a dream we both had been dreaming for fifty years finally come to life. I almost began to cry, as did Five, and he almost never cried. Gripping his wrists, I shouted, "Really?"

"We can leave right now," Five's breathing was heavy, "I can open a portal to two thousand nineteen and we could go right now."

"What about The Commission? We haven't finished our contract."

"To hell with the Commission and to hell with our contract! We were always bidding our time, Clove, and now our time has come."

He squeezed my shoulders and grinned brightly. Blinking, I smiled, "Let's do it."

"We're going to need luck," Five stated, "We've got the calculations, but we'll need luck for them to be right."

I grinned, "We've got all the luck we need. I'm the lucky clover, remember?"

Five laughed and dropped his book in the grass. Turning to stand parallel to the fence, he clenched his fists. Blue waves began to appear around his hands and the air in front of him began to shimmer with similar blue waves.

"Hold onto me," Five mumbled.

I grabbed his shoulders and held on for dear life. Five clenched his eyes shut and poured all of his concentration into opening the portal. Electric sparks and loud crashes radiated from the portal, but only we could hear it.

Slowly, it opened, much like a trapdoor. A hole ripped through the sunshiny day and looked straight into a dark courtyard. The door beyond that courtyard opened and several individuals ran out. I couldn't quite make them out, but Five could. Through his concentration, he grunted, "It's them. My family."

I gasped. The portal got thicker as another person with a splash of pink ran out. They threw something bright red, and a fire extinguisher came soaring through the portal. I ducked, never once loosening my grip on Five.

"Now!" Five shouted.

Together, we dove into the portal. It felt like slimy hands were grabbing me, but all I could focus on was holding onto Five. The last thing I wanted was for us to be separated and I was determined to make sure that didn't happen. Through the slimy electricity flowing around me, I could feel the cloth of his shirt between my fingers.

Time travel through Five's portals was much different than time travel with a briefcase. It felt like moving through Jello packed with thousands of electrodes all set to high. I felt like I was compacting in on myself, getting smaller and smaller while my skin was practically ripped off. Even my bones seemed to be getting squished and compacted in on themselves.

I screamed but no sound came out. All I could hear was the roaring and zapping of the portal around us. Eventually, the roaring died down and we were both falling through thin air. I felt wet grass underneath me when I landed on the hard ground.

Five groaned next to me and I sighed in relief; we survived. Rolling onto my back, I glanced up to see several blurry figures standing above me. Five had rolled onto his hands and knees and was right next to me, gazing up at the people. The one who threw the fire hydrant, the only one with any color, tilted their head, "Does anyone else see tiny Five and a tiny friend, or is that just me?"

"Lucky Clover," I mumbled as I rolled my head to look at Five.


	7. Hey, Look, Old People

"Lucky Clover," I mumbled.

Five people stood above us, each one gazing down with confusion. I was still on my back while Five was on his hands-and-knees next to me. My eyes were even drier than they were after time travel with a briefcase and my entire body ached. From the way Five groaned next to me, I could figure he felt the same.

The five people standing above us were familiar to me despite the fact that I had never met them before that moment. Five's stories made me feel as if I knew them. It was easy to recognize them, even as adults, as they peered down at us.

The first was, of course, Number One; Luther. It surprised me how big he was. From Five's stories, it sounded like he was slender yet strong. A small package you wouldn't expect to have so much strength. Looking at this hulking ape of a man, I could easily imagine him lifting an entire army tank with his pinky finger. Despite his strength showing in every muscle, he did his best to hide himself. He wore two layers of thick jackets over an even thicker turtleneck and cargo pants. Despite trying to hide in multiple layers, he still appeared larger than life.

Luther was holding the hand of Number Three; Allison. Just looking at her, I felt calm. Five always used to tell me that Allison was the most comforting of the siblings. She was the one who would be the first at your side when you had a nightmare, or the first to give you a hug when you needed it most. She hadn't even said a single word to me but I already felt like I could be comfortable with her. I could tell her all my secrets and know she would never, ever, repeat them. With her free hand, she held back her curly hair and gazed down at both of us with concerned eyes. I half expected her to force us for a check-up.

Standing right next to Luther, as if trying to compete for the top position, was Number Two; Diego. He was exactly as Five described him right down to the affinity for military buzz cuts and knives all over his body. The first thing I noticed was the weird black getup with an excessive amount of leather. He looked like he should be in a movie with the costume he was wearing. He held a knife in his hand, but he never once moved to throw it. He was the act before thinking sort, that's what Five always told me, but actually looking at him I no longer believed it. I could see he had a desperate need to prove himself, perhaps to the world or perhaps to himself, but that wouldn't stop him from doing what was right.

The one who threw the fire extinguisher that almost took off my head was Number Four; Klaus. Five would always say, when they were kids, Klaus would take any substance he could get his hands on to block out the spirits. Just by looking at him, I could tell that hadn't changed. His demeanor was that of a man who was so distantly separated from himself, he had forgotten he was ever a person in the first place. His smile hid someone who was deeply broken, and I could see all the pieces in his eyes. Despite this, he put on a happy demeanor and a wicked fashion sense that left everyone around him floored.

Last but not least was Vanya; Number Seven. She was just as small as Five had described her, but I got a feeling she made herself that way. She seemed to be caving in on herself constantly, as if trying to make herself disappear from a place that might have encouraged her. She was constantly fidgeting and her eyes held no life behind them. It seemed more like I was looking at a cardboard cutout of someone who may have once been real but long since lost the connection.

"Shit," Five stood and brushed off his suit.

I pushed myself to a sitting position and glanced up at him. It was lucky I was sitting, or else I might have fallen over yet again. The Five that stood above me wasn't the Five that I saw just moments ago, this was the Five I had met in the apocalypse nearly half a century ago. He was thirteen years old again and practically being swallowed by his suit. His body was younger, but he was still the same Five I had grown up with. His scowl was still there, one that hid the smile he only ever had in private, and he still held himself in his confident way. Even when he was drowning in his clothes, he held himself with such confidence, nobody could doubt him.

"Uh, Five?" I muttered.

He glanced down at me and blinked rapidly. Looking me up and down, he stated, "Clove? You're young again."

"So are you!" I jumped to my feet.

"I'm sorry, Five?" Luther held up his hands in disbelief, "What the Hell are you doing here?"

Five popped his coat collar and sighed, "Wonderful to see you too, Luther."

The rest of the Hargreeves family simply stared at both of us. I became uncomfortable under their gaze, but I couldn't blame them. I would be shocked too if my brother appeared from an interdimensional portal with a complete stranger. Nobody knew what to say, or if there even was anything to say. Not even I could come up with something as I shifted under their gaze.

"I could really go for a sandwich," he turned to me, "Clove?"

All I could do was nod, suddenly feeling very inferior and out of place with the gaze of five super siblings boring down on me. Five stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to waltz into the house as if he never left. Offering a sheepish smile to his siblings, I sprinted to catch up with Five before falling into step next to him.

"I take it we weren't supposed to get younger?" I glanced over my shoulder to see his baffled siblings following us through the cavernous hallways.

"We weren't," Five pushed open a door, "I must've gotten the math wrong."

"Was it the decimal?"

"It could have been."

"I hate to say I told you so," I smirked, "But, I told you so."

Five rolled his eyes. We stepped through a knocked down wall and straight into the kitchen. After hearing Five's stories for so many years, I felt like I knew this house like the back of my hand. I could easily navigate the halls despite never having been there before. That's why it didn't surprise me to see the children's instructional illustrations drawn like old fifties books detailing how to kill a man and get away with it. I wasn't in awe of the pool table or how the house expanded into old storefronts and took up the entire block.

"Did we make it?" I whispered.

"I think so," Five moved to the cabinet for bread as I got butter knives, "The world hasn't ended yet, clearly."

The rest of the Hargreeves arrived in the kitchen and slowly made their way to the table. Five and I took up one end as we made our sandwiches. The others took the chairs at the opposite end, or stood around their siblings. Klaus was the only odd one out, choosing to sit directly on the table rather than a chair or stand.

Five and I moved in perfect unity. He would hand me a knife and I would pass him the peanut butter. We didn't have to speak, we didn't have to even look at each other. After so long together, we memorized each other's moves.

"What's the date?" Five grabbed the peanut butter and handed it to me.

Vanya blinked, "Uh- the twenty-forth?"

"Of what?"

"March?"

"Eight days," I muttered.

Five dropped his bread, "Good."

I handed him the butter knife as he passed me another slice of bread. Luther stepped forward, "Are we going to talk about what just happened?"

"Oh, yes, I have many questions," Klaus raised his hand.

Diego pushed his hand down, "I think we all do."

"What's there to talk about?" Five asked.

Luther frowned deeply, "It's been seventeen years, Five."

"Only seventeen years?" I muttered, "I thought it'd be longer."

Five stepped around the table, "It has been."

He stepped up to Luther, who refused to move despite Five using one of his classic glares. For a moment, the two brothers glared at each other. Luther curled his fists as Five shot him his classic 'move or I will kill you' glare. Luther's head must have been as thick as his chest, because the message flew right over his head. Five easily teleported past him, making Luther sigh, "I didn't miss that."

"Welcome to my world," I licked the peanut butter off the knife.

Five teleported back to our end of the table with a bag of marshmallows. Handing me one, he began to pour some on his sandwich as I popped the one he gave me in my mouth.

"Where did you go?" Diego's voice was just as rough as he tried to make the rest of him out to be.

"The future," Five handed me the bag of marshmallows, "It's shit by the way."

"Called it!" Klaus exclaimed.

I chuckled, "Would not recommend it."

"Definitely not," Five agreed.

I chuckled as Vanya blinked, "How did you get there?"

"Time travel. It was exactly as the old man said," Five muttered, "Jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice."

"Loaded dice," I mumbled.

Looking up, Five made eye contact with Klaus, "Nice dress."

"Oh, danke," Klaus responded.

I smiled, "It compliments your figure."

"I don't know who you are," Klaus grinned, "But I like you."

I winked, "Danke."

Klaus giggled as Vanya raised her hands, "Wait, hang on- how did you get back?"

"I had to project both of our consciousness into extended quantum versions of ourselves that exist across every instance of time," Five explained nonchalantly.

His siblings gaped at him, each one unable to respond. I held the knife up and shrugged, "I don't get it either, just nod and say 'ah, yes time travel, interesting' that's what I do."

"How long were you there?" Luther completely ignored me.

"Forty-five years," Five took the peanut butter from me and snapped on the lid, "Roughly."

"It felt like longer," I added.

Allison frowned, "That's impossible, you look thirteen."

"I look thirteen, yes," Five said as I put up the peanut butter, "I'm much older than that."

"That much is obvious," I said under my breath.

Five rolled his eyes at me. Luther paused for a moment before asking, "You're fifty-eight?"

"His consciousness is," I answered as Five put up the marshmallows, "Both of us are. Physically, we're thirteen."

Luther looked me in the eye for the first time, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"This is my friend, Clove Thindrel. She went to the future with me," Five explained.

I grinned, "Pleasure to meet you."

"Wait, how?" Allison asked, "Can you time travel too?"

I wiggled a finger at her, "That is a long story. Short answer, no I can't time travel. Long answer, no I can't time travel and I made a mistake a very long time ago."

"I still don't understand how your consciousness and your bodies are two different ages," Luther put in.

Five took a bite of his sandwich as I sat on a stool with my legs pulled under me, "Dolores said the equations were wrong."

"Technically I said it," I said through bites of sandwich.

"You still don't know how to do basic math."

"And yet I was right."

Five smiled but quickly hid it when he turned back to his siblings. All five of them were still staring at us in disbelief, I don't think they fully believed us. I couldn't blame them, I was having a hard time believing it myself. If I hadn't lived it, I don't think I would have.

I glanced at the table to see a paper folded in half. On that paper was a picture of Reginald Hargreeves and his death announcement. Half choking on peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich, I grabbed the paper and gently slapped Five's shoulder with it. He took it and gazed at the face of his father for the first time in forty-five years, "I guess I missed the funeral."

"How did you know about that?" Luther demanded.

"Future," I answered, "Come on, man, it's a pretty easy concept to grasp."

Luther glared at me, "I wasn't talking to you."

"Alright, touchy."

"Heart failure?" Five asked.

Diego nodded, "Yes."

"No," Luther glared daggers into his brother.

Five dropped the paper, "Good to see nothing's changed."

He began to walk out of the room, paper in hand. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing, as I was perfectly content sitting on the stool and eating my sandwich. Allison lifted her hand and watched him go, "That's it?"

"What more is there to tell?" Five called back.

For a moment, all five siblings watched the place Five had disappeared too. They suddenly turned to me where I was picking the marshmallows out of my sandwich. Only then did I really register that Five had left the room and I quickly jumped to my feet. Roughly swallowing my bite of sandwich, I smiled at them, "It really was lovely to finally meet you all. I hope we have time to get to know each other!"

I waved as I rushed out of the room. Five was already at the base of the gothic staircase and I quickly sprinted to meet him. He moved slowly, showing his age through his young body. It was wonderful to feel young again, my knees didn't hurt as much as they used too, but I oddly missed the glory of being old.

"Eight days," I huffed, "Five, that isn't enough time."

Five roughly turned the corner, "We'll have to make it enough time."

"How?"

"I don't know," Five lead me down a long hall, "We'll have to follow the only lead we've got."

He pulled a velvet bag out of his pocket and poured its contents into his hand. He had been carrying around that glass eye since the moment he landed in the apocalypse and found it in his dead brothers' grasp. It had been our only lead and we had no idea what it meant. The brown iris never moved, giving it the same eerie feeling Five felt when he found it. He somehow managed to keep the velvet bag clean, but the eye was filled with fingerprint smudges and the color had long since started to dull. Despite being made of glass, the eye looked more dead than it ever had before. 

Five led me to a door in the middle of the hall. It was propped open to reveal a modest child's room. There was nothing on the green walls except a ring of lining with children pulling wagons. Even his bed was empty, not a single stuffed animal sat waiting for him and he only had two pillows.

I fell to sit on the bed as Five threw open his closet. Looking back at him was a row of identical uniforms every member of The Umbrella Academy was forced to wear. Each had the same navy blue shorts with a matching blazer. A tiny Umbrella Academy logo was sewn onto the pocket, and everyone had to wear argyle sweater vests over a white button up shirt. As Five sifted through the uniforms, he sighed, "Shit."

"Aw, how adorable," I teased.

Five rolled his eyes, "Very funny, Clove."

"Personally, I think I'm hilarious."

There was a soft knock on the door that drew both our attention. Allison was leaning on the doorframe, a gentle smile across her lips. To my surprise, she looked and spoke directly to me, "I figured you might want some new clothes."

I glanced down at my suit several sizes too big for me, "Yes please."

"Come on, I've still got some of my old clothes in my room."

I quickly jumped up and bounced to follow her. Five shut the door behind us and Allison maneuvered through the seemingly never ending halls. She walked with an aura of confidence, yet she also kept her arms tightly wound around her middle as if afraid someone would attack her. I kept glancing up at her, and she would smile at me.

Her room was the picture perfect room for a little girl. The walls were pink and a shaggy white carpet seemed to be covered in stickers. Magazine clippings lined her walls, and a tapestry of parrots added a splash of color. Opposite of her bed hung a row of clothing. She gestured to the hanging clothes and said, "Take anything you like. None of it fits me anymore anyways, you might as well get some use out of it."

"Thanks, Allison," I smiled up at her, "You know, you're exactly like you were in Five's stories."

Allison lifted an eyebrow, "I am?"

"Oh, yes. You're just as kind and open-hearted as he said you were."

Allison hid the small smile creeping across her face. Giving me a curt nod, she hurried out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving me with the rack of clothes.

Most of the clothes were not something I enjoyed wearing in my youth or my old age. They were sparkly clothes of skirts, dresses, bedazzled jean jackets, and frilly tops that I couldn't even figure out how she would've gotten them on. It took me a few minutes to sort through the clothes for things I would actually wear.

I ended up with light blue jeans that had been perfectly worn in. They were warm and soft to the touch, acting more like a hug than a pair of pants. I also slipped on a dark green sweater whose sleeves went beyond my hands. Lucky for me, young Allison and I ever had the same shoe size, and I borrowed a pair of red sneakers. Just to top it all off, I threw on an ushanka hat to keep back my unruly hair and keep away the frigid Spring air.

Five was waiting at the top of the stairs for me when I finally emerged. He was dressed just as he was in the portrait downstairs, with the same finely pressed uniform and eyebrows sunk low on his face. In all aspects, he looked like the same boy that vanished seventeen years ago. In his demeanor, however, it was easy to see how long that boy had been gone. His eyes had gone dark a very long time ago, sometimes I wondered if they ever had light in them in the first place. Despite being a thirteen year old boy again, he still held himself like a man.

"You look like a child," he commented.

I stopped next to him, "Might as well play the part."

"Was the hat really necessary?"

"Don't judge me, it's freezing outside."

Five shook his head, "Maybe your consciousness aged backwards too."

"You might have grown up in the apocalypse," I commented as we walked down the stairs together, "But I choose to stay forever young."

Five jumped off the last step, "I'm not sure that's how this works."

"And, yet, here I am."

We rounded the corner to see the rest of the family dressed in black and ready to go outside. A new woman was with them, one I instantly identified to be their mother, Grace. Her black dress seemed more rubber than fabric, and she didn't seem too far behind. Her movements were smooth, natural, but I couldn't help but feel like there was just something slightly off about her. Five had never mentioned anything different about her, only that she was one of the nicest people he had ever known.

"I guess I wasn't late after all," Five grabbed two umbrellas from the nearby coat rack.

I took one from him as he handed it to me, "Late for what?"

"A funeral," he placed the umbrella on his shoulder as the rest of his family stepped outside, "My father's funeral."


	8. I'm Bitter and I Won't Stop Whining

The courtyard of the Umbrella Academy was a giant hole smack in the middle of the much larger buildings. It wasn't much, it seemed more like a prison yard than somewhere someone called home once. The moment I stepped out of the house and into the courtyard, my skin began to crawl. Chills I was sure didn't come from the cold air ran up my spine. Even Five shivered slightly, but he hid it easily.

There wasn't much in the courtyard. A few bushes and trees had been perfectly kept, by Hargreeves or a gardener, I would never know. The way they were kept in uniform and shaped so specifically mirrored Reginald's Hargreeves' love for uniformity.

A few benches sat along the outer rim of the courtyard, but the most startling part was the statue just outside of the middle. Ben Hargreeves, also known as Number Six, was the lost member of The Umbrella Academy. He died long after Five disappeared, the only way Five found out was through Vanya's book. I caught him looking up at the statue of his brother with a heartbroken look. Ben's statue's facial expression was one no human could possess. It was cold and lifeless, something which I took as an ominous warning rather than a bittersweet memorial. This wasn't a memorial to a lost child, it was a warning to the others of what happens when you disobey daddy.

Luther carried Reginald Hargreeves' urn. The urn was just as cold as Five had described his father. It's ornate exterior was forgotten in the dull gray color and flaking edges.

We all stood in a semicircle around Luther. It had begun raining just after Five and I returned, and it was pouring by the time we made it to the courtyard. Everyone carried a pure black umbrella, save for Klaus, Luther, and Diego. Luther and Diego were clearly too busy trying to prove their manliness to bother with an umbrella. They let the rain fall on them like they were starring in their own dramatic movie.

Klaus was the only Hargreeves' with an affinity for color. His umbrella was clear with pink edges. He twirled in it his hand, though I thought it was more of an anxiety fidget than a fashion statement.

Luther glanced at each one of his siblings individually. When his eyes landed on me, he nearly moved on to Five before pausing and jerking his glare back to me. Tightening his grip on the urn, he frowned, "You shouldn't be here."

"Luther," Five spat.

"This is a family event," Luther never tore his gaze from me, "And she isn't family."

"Luther!" Allison hissed.

Five grabbed my wrist and glared at his brother, "She's my guest, Luther. Last I checked, I'm still family."

"This is a private funeral, Five."

"You never changed," Five sneered, "Back off before-"

"No, Five, it's okay," I gently pulled my wrist from his grip and placed a hand on his shoulder, "He's right."

"Clove-" Five began but I interrupted.

"It's alright, I'll wait inside," I smiled at him before turning to Luther, "I know you're all in pain, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

I turned on my heel and began to walk back to the house. Opening the door, I gave Five one last smile and stepped into the foreboding house. The door shut behind me and I was officially alone.

Being in that house by myself versus with the entire family were two completely different things. With the family, it was easy to forget about the house and focus on them. I had spent the entire apocalypse listening to Five's stories about home, and I knew it wasn't the house. Home to him had nothing to do with the ominous halls and rooms without any life, it had everything to do with who was inside. Being in that house alone, however, I came to wonder how they ever grew up in a place like that.

Every sound echoed, giving the entire place a cavernous sort of feel. It made me feel like I was already buried six feet under despite still living and breathing. The pressure of the house was immense, even in the large rooms, I could feel a sort of pressure I knew had nothing to do with the walls. No matter how many lights I turned on, the place still seemed dark. The entire thing reminded me of the apocalypse a bit too much. I felt an intense need to get out, but I knew I had to stay. For Five, I stayed. 

I found my way into the kitchen. Flicking on the lights, I winced slightly when one began to blink. It gave me a headache and I did my best to ignore it. The slight buzzing sounded much louder to me than it really was, but that could easily be attributed to the dooming silence filling the house. 

"I wonder if you've got any good drinks," I muttered, "I could really go for a lemonade."

I crouched in front of the refrigerator and began to sift through the contents inside. I should have known there would be no lemonade, it had been so long since children lived there and I was sure Reginald Hargreeves didn't feel the need for such a childish drink. Groaning, I shut the refrigerator door and resorted to making myself a glass of water.

It was a bit lonely in that house. It was a wonder Five and his siblings were ever able to grow up there, sometimes I wonder if they ever did. I wasn't even a child, at least not mentally, but I had the strongest urge to run away. I felt like Reginald Hargreeves would pop around the corner at any moment and lecture me about every fault I've ever had in my entire life.

"They're just as ridiculous as I remember them," Five teleported to appear right next to me.

I jumped so hard, my water splashed into my face. Wiping it off, I glared up at my friend, "Don't do that!"

"Since when were you so jumpy?" Five began to dig through the cupboards and pantry.

I grabbed a paper towel and began to wipe my face, "Since we came to this house that's more like a haunted mansion than a home. How did you ever live here?"

"It's all I ever knew," Five looked through the cupboards hanging from the wall, "It was a lot better when we all lived here together."

"It's like a funeral home now," I muttered.

"Well, someone did die here."

"That's it, I'm sleeping on the roof."

Five chuckled. A grunt made me turn to look at the hole in the wall that served as a door. Klaus came staggering through, glancing back and frowning, "Who put a wall there?"

"There's always been a wall there, Klaus," Five never once stopped searching the kitchen.

"Oh! If it isn't my dear brother and his dear friend!" He gestured a shaky hand to each of us.

I grinned, "Hi, Klaus."

"Oh, Clove, I really hope what Luther said didn't get to you," Klaus fell into the seat next to me and reached his hand out to place it over mine, "He's always been a bit of a- oh how do I put this- a hard ass."

I snorted, "You're all exactly how Five described you in his stories."

"I don't tell stories, Clove," Five released an exasperated sigh.

"Sure you don't, Five, sure."

"Ooh, I love stories," Klaus leaned on his hands and smiled, "What did he say about me?"

Five teleported to a nearby shelf, "Absolutely nothing, don't listen to her."

"Everything," I smiled at Klaus, "All good things, though, I promise."

"Aw, Fivey, you do care," Klaus fake pouted at his brother.

Five released yet another exasperated sigh and ignored the both of us. I had gotten used to him ignoring me when he became annoyed, and it seemed like Klaus had too. He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head, smiling at me. I covered my mouth to stifle my giggles.

"Did I miss something?" Allison glanced at Klaus and I as she walked in.

Klaus lifted his hands, "Oh, now it's a party!"

"Have any of you seen Vanya?" Allison completely ignored her brother.

"Oh, she left," Klaus curled into his seat, "Poof, gone."

Five held a French press above his head, "That's unfortunate."

"Why'd she leave?" I glanced between all three siblings.

Allison pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's a long story."

"To summarize," Klaus leans towards me, "Diego and Luther are assholes."

"It's not quite that simple," Allison retorted.

"Yet, nobody is saying I'm wrong."

"I feel like I missed something," I turned to Five who simply shook his head.

Allison sat down her coat and sighed. Any family gathering for a normal family is a headache, but with a dysfunctional superhero family it's even worse. I could see all three of them were already developing migraines and the evening had only just begun.

"An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, and no, not a single drop of coffee," Five angrily dropped the French press on the table.

Allison frowned, "Dad hated coffee."

"He hated children too," Klaus threw his head back, "And he had plenty of those!"

I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh as Allison and Five barely even reacted. Klaus beamed at me and winked, causing me to snort and quickly cover it up when Five glared at me. Looking up at him as innocently as possible, I said, "I already love your family."

"Aw, I'm glad someone does!" Klaus exclaimed.

Five stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed, "I'm taking the car."

"Where are you going?" Allison demanded.

"To get a decent cup of coffee."

"Can you even drive?"

Five glared at her, "I can do everything."

"Well-" I began but quickly stopped when Five glared at me.

He turned and instantly vanished with a small warping noise. Klaus stood, "We probably should stop him, but I also just want to see how this will end."

"Sorry about him," I stood and pushed my chair in, "He really grew into a grumpy old man."

Allison crossed her arms over her middle, "Did you two really grow up together?"

"We did the first time around," I answered, "We went through a lot together. Going through all that we did, it-it changes a person. Trauma made me funny, it made him grumpy."

My eyes fell to the ground as my mind ran through everything. From surviving the apocalypse to every time we each almost died to joining the commission and having to murder countless people. It was difficult to say what the worst thing we endured was, or if there even was a worst thing.

Shaking myself, I quickly banished those memories and turned to smile at my companions. Klaus chuckled, "He's always been a hard ass anyways."

"Good to see nothing changes, "Allison chuckled.

I smiled before glancing at the door, "I better catch up with him before he leaves without me again."

"The car's in the alley," Allison jerked her thumb to the door.

I gave her a mock salute before running off. I passed Diego as I sprinted through the halls, and I was sure he shouted something at me but I ignored him. I hurried through the front doors and to the street where Five was waiting with the windows down, "It's about time you showed up."

"I'm sorry, I'm not the one who can teleport," I fell into the seat next to him.

"You're slow, that's for sure."

"I can make force fields, Five, that's about all I've got going for me."

Five put the car into gear and began to speed down the street, "That and you're a trained assassin."

"Yeah, but what use is that?" I rolled up the window, "It's not like we're killing people anymore."

Five turned a tight corner, nearly making me slam into the door, "Not yet."

"With any luck, we'll be doing the exact opposite," I finally buckled my seatbelt and held onto the door for dear life, "We'll be saving lives rather than ending them."

"Only if we can stop the apocalypse," Five muttered.

I glanced at him, "We will, Five. We've been preparing for this for nearly half a century, I know we'll stop it."

"You can't know that."

"Oh, but I can, you wanna know how?"

Five, already knowing where I was going with this, rolled his eyes and played along, "How do you know, Clove?"

"Because, we've got me," I pulled down my sleeve just enough to show my birthmark, "We've got all the luck we need right here."

Five did his best to hide his smile, but I knew him well enough to know when he was smiling on the inside. I glanced down at my birthmark and smiled before pushing my sleeve back up. My birthmark, in the perfect shape of a four-leaf clover, had been slowly growing as I did. It shrank when I did as well. It was a dark spot that spread across my entire shoulder and bicep, wrapping around my arm like a clover sleeve. It gave me all the luck I needed. Even as I got handed all the bad hands of cards, I had all the luck I needed.

Five pulled to an abrupt stop in the parking lot of a donut shop. Griddy's donuts seemed more like a gas station than a donut shop. The lights were flickering and giving off an industrial vibe that reminded me of hospitals and underground water treatment plants. The constant humming was like nails on a chalkboard and caused me to wince.

The building itself was a single square brick building with fading red paint. It might have once been a nice place, but it had long since fallen into disrepair. With the much taller buildings around it, I could imagine it was often forgotten about.

"My siblings and I used to come here when we were kids," Five explained when I met him at the front of the car, "We would eat donuts until we puked."

I smiled, "It's a lovely place."

"It's a shithole."

"Well, I wasn't going to say it."

Five chuckled and began to trek inside. I was close on his heel, smiling and thanking the man that held the door open for us. Five and I each plopped down on one of the stools at the bar and Five rang the bell.

The inside was much better off than the outside. It still had the buzzing lights that easily gave me a headache, but they were a much warmer light. Instead of the blinding old LED lights outside, these were warm lights one would find in a home. The entire place smelled of fryer grease and sickly sweet icing. The smell was both nauseating and invigorating. It reminded me of a childhood I was suddenly shoved into once again. As we sat on the red seats, the cracking leather stuck into my pants and caused me to shift several times.

The shop had originally been empty save for us, but another patron entered. An old tow truck driver chose the seat next to Five. Five gave him a curt nod as I smiled enough for the both of us. 

"Funny," Five muttered, "I don't remember this place being such a shit hole."

The man looked Five up and down as I rolled my eyes, "Five, be nice."

"Am I wrong?"

"No, but you don't have to say it."

"Might not look the best," the tow truck driver shrugged, "But they've got the best donuts in town."

Five turned to the driver and glanced at the patch stitched onto his shirt pocket. Tilting his head, he asked, "You're a tow truck driver?"

"Have been for twenty-seven years," the man answered.

"I suppose that means you know the city pretty well?"

"I'd have to, to do what I do."

"Good, I need an address," Five leaned on his elbows, his eyes never once leaving the driver's face, "Gimbel's Brother's."

The driver knitted his eyebrows, "What do you want that rundown store for?"

"Let's just say- I'm looking for an old friend."

The tow truck driver stared at Five for an extra moment before shrugging. Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, the driver began to write it down. When he pulled the paper off his pad, Five pocketed and muttered a quiet, "Thank you."

I placed a hand on Five's shoulder and smiled, "We'll find her, Five."

"It will be nice to see her again," Five hit the bell for the waitress, "I've missed her."

"I know, me too."

Neither of us had to speak to know exactly who we were talking about. It had been a little over a year since we last saw Dolores in the apocalypse. Five had regretted leaving her ever since and swore up and down she would be the first person he would find when we got here. Five hit the bell one more time and the waitress came hurrying around the corner. 

"Sorry, the sink was clogged," she pulled out her pad of paper and clicked her pen, "What can I get for you?"

She was an older woman but no less pretty. Her smile was warm and inviting, and oddly genuine for someone who worked in customer service. She was swaying on her feet in a rhythmic sort of manner, like she was dancing to her own music nobody else could hear. I could easily see her being a mother or a grandmother, not because she had to be but because she gave off warm and welcoming vibes. She didn't have to have any children but everyone, adults and children alike, would gravitate to her just because they knew she would welcome them with open arms.

"Give me a chocolate éclair," the tow truck driver responded.

"Delicious," the woman, Agnes as her name tag said, side-eyed us, "Can I get the kids anything? Maybe glasses of milk or something?"

For a moment, all three of us stared at her in disbelief. It didn't occur to me that she thought we were with the tow truck driver. Sometimes I forgot I was an adult in a child's body and most people didn't know that. I would have to get used to being treated like a kid despite being a full grown adult closer to death than birth.

"This kid wants coffee," Five gave her his irritated smile, "Black."

I slowly raised my hand, "I'll take the milk."

"Oh- alright," Agnes muttered.

Five turned to me, "Milk? Are you twelve?"

"Thirteen actually," I smiled at Agnes when she sat the milk in front of me, "If I get a redo, there's no way I'm letting my knees get as bad as they did again."

Five held up his coffee to me before taking a big sip. I sipped my milk and did my best to hold back a gag. It had been so long since I drank straight milk, I had to really focus to remember if I ever had drank it in the first place. It was so bland and the texture made me want to gag. Rather than have Five say I told you so, I drank the milk with a perfectly straight face.

Agnes returned to the back room for change as the tow truck driver got up and left. For just a few moments, Five and I were alone and at peace in the donut shop. We sipped our drinks happily before the bell on the door rang.

I could sense several people stepping inside. My heightened senses after years of training told me there were at least seven, perhaps eight or nine. They slowly stepped in and scattered across the room. I didn't have to look at them to tell they were carrying heavy guns, a person carrying a gun had a different gait. They moved like they owned the place because the weapon they carried assured that they easily could. They became less afraid, but that only made them more vulnerable.

Something cold and long gently pressed into my back and Five's. Five gently sat down his coffee as I sighed, "Shit"

"You found us fast," Five didn't look up from his coffee as he spoke.

"Then, you know what's about to happen," a man spoke in a low tone, "Just come with us, both of you, before things get ugly."

I chuckled, "Funny, you think it'll get ugly for us."

"Shut up, little girl."

"Oh, know you've done it, asshole."

"Easy, Clove," Five sipped his coffee, "You know, you and your men could turn around and leave. Make it easy for all of us."

The man pressed his gun further into Five's back, "You know that isn't going to happen. The only way we're all going home is if you come with us."

"I really hope you said your goodbyes," I pushed my milk away from me.

"What?"

"Because you're not going home."

Five vanished just as I flung up a shield. Bullets began to soar as the entire shop was filled with the sound of guns going off. With the ease of practice, Five and I jumped into the fight and began to work together smoothly and efficiently.

I spun around and dropped my shield, making another small one around the nearest assassin's head. It slowly got smaller and smaller until the assassin's head was floating in the shield while the rest of him hit the floor. Recalling my shield, I jumped onto a table and dove onto the back of another.

A few times, I blocked Five's back with a shield as bullets bounced off and Five would grab my wrist and teleport us on top of a table or the counter. We each fought on our own but we fought together. For so long, we had been a team, and one of our best weapons was our team work.

I caused one of the assassin's bullets to ricochet and hit his friend directly in his heart. Jumping onto a table, I flipped into the air and grabbed the first assassin's head, flipping him head over heels and breaking his neck in the process.

When only one assassin was left, Five and I jumped in front of him together. He held his gun to us, but that meant nothing. Grinning at each other, I grabbed his gun in a shield and made it fly across the room as Five teleported behind him and pulled him to the ground. Five broke his neck and we were done.

"What was that you said about not killing people," Five grabbed his tie he used to choke a guy.

I shook my arms off and sighed, "Alright, alright, you were right."

"Thank you."

Five returned his tie to his neck and moved to one of the dead guys. My hat had flown off during the battle, and I found it behind one of the chairs. Shoving it back on my head, I surveyed the damage, "How'd they find us?"

"Tracker," Five stood up and held up the GPS unit he found.

Two red dots, standing right next to each other, were blinking on the otherwise green screen. Glancing at my arm, I groaned, "This is gonna hurt, isn't it?"

"Just don't think about it and it'll be over before you know it," Five grabbed a knife from one of the dead guys, "I'll cut yours out if you cut mine."

"Alright, let's just get this over with."

I rolled my sleeve up and placed my arm, with my palm facing the ceiling, on the bar. Five used the tip of the knife to cut a small incision in my arm. I barely felt it. After all the wounds I had suffered in my lifetime, this was nothing. Even when Five was digging around in my arm, I only winced and gritted my teeth.

"There we go," Five pulled out a tiny blinking chip in the shape of a cylinder, "Now, how did that get in there?"

I used a few napkins to cover my wound, "The magic of the commission."

Five handed me the knife and rolled up the sleeves of his blazer. Spinning it in my hand, I did exactly what he did to my arm. His tracker was just to the left of the incision I made. My fingers were covered in blood when I pulled them out, but I held the tracker gently between my pointer and middle finger, "Tricky tricky."

"We better go," Five tied a few napkins around his wound, "It's only a matter of time before the cops get here."

I followed Five out of the shop, "Where do we go?"

We dropped our trackers in the sewer and hurried to the car. Once again, Five took the driver's seat as I took the passenger. He put it into gear and we began to drive off, "We can't go back to the Academy or Luther won't stop nagging until he figures out where all this blood came from."

"So, what's left?"

"I think I know just the place," Five smiled, "I think it's time you got to know my favorite sibling."

I tilted my head and smiled. Five drove us to a small apartment building a fair bit away from the Umbrella Academy. We parked in the alley just under the fire escape. Five jumped out of the car and met me on the opposite side. Grabbing my wrist, he teleported us onto the fire escape.

"Jesus," I bent over and gagged, "We could just take the main entrance!"

"With all this blood? They'll call the cops in a second," Five began to climb up the ladders.

I groaned but followed suit. We climbed several flights until we made it to one particular window. How Five knew where Vanya lived, I'll never know, but he knew exactly what window to open. To my surprise, it was unlocked and we were able to slip into the apartment with ease.

Vanya kept her apartment neat but empty. There wasn't much in terms of knick knacks except for a music stand and a few scattered sheets on the nearby table. The apartment was dark as we stepped inside. Five fell to sit on a chair as I crossed my arms, "She isn't even here."

"She will be," Five crossed his legs.

"Don't you think we'll scare her?"

"She's Vanya, she'll welcome us."

I sighed as I sat on the couch. My arm was throbbing and all that shield making wiped me out. I tucked my legs beneath me and rested my head on the couch.

My shields were made of energy, specifically my energy. They took the energy my body made that kept me alive and functioning and converted that into impenetrable electric force fields. I couldn't make force fields if I didn't have enough to eat or drink, or if I didn't have enough sleep the night before. After time travel, getting yelled at, meeting the most dysfunctional family, and getting into a huge fight, I was wiped out. All I wanted to do was sleep until the world ended.

The lock on the door clicked and it was slowly pushed open. Five flicked on the lamp next to him and Vanya shouted, "Jesus! Five!"

"Hey, Vanya," Five spoke calmly and coolly.

I raised my head just long enough to wave. When I dropped it back on the couch, I could feel Five glance at me worriedly. Vanya hung up her keys and locked the door behind her, "How did you get in here?"

"You should really lock your windows," Five responded.

"I live on the second floor."

"Rapists can climb."

I offered a weak chuckle. Vanya stepped around the couch and looked at both of us, "What are you doing here?"

"I've decided you're the only one I can trust," Five spoke.

"Ouch," I mumbled, "Hurtful."

"Besides you, Clove, obviously," Five rolled his eyes.

I gave him a smile before curling further into myself. Vanya caught the dark stain on Five's collar and her eyes widened, "Is that blood?"

"It doesn't matter," Five hurried to cover it up.

"Smooth," I grumbled into the couch.

Vanya vanished into the bathroom, leaving Five and I alone. She reappeared with alcohol and gauze. Sitting on the coffee table, she took Five's arm and began to bandage it.

"Why are you here, Five?" Vanya asked as she finished bandaging his arm.

"I've got something to say," Five rolled down his sleeve, "And I think you're the only one who will listen."

Vanya moved to me as Five leaned back. I weakly offered her my arm, giving her a sluggish smile as I did. She began bandaging my wound as Five spoke, "You know what I found in the future?"

"What?" Vanya whispered.

"Nothing," Five's eyes fell to the floor, "Absolutely nothing. I thought I was the only person left alive on planet Earth."

"Until he met me," I mumbled.

"Until I met her. I time traveled to the end of the world, Vanya."

Vanya blinked rapidly. She couldn't do more than stare at her brother, and I couldn't blame her. If I hadn't lived it, I wouldn't believe it.

"I don't know how it happens, but I know when," Five leaned forward and met Vanya's eyes, "The world ends in eight days, Vanya, and I don't know how to stop it."

"Woo," I weakly threw my fists around.


	9. Imma Fight It

"The end of the world?" Vanya handed Five and I each a cup of coffee, "In eight days?"

Five nodded. I handed him my coffee, which he gladly began to drink along with his. I was never one for coffee and always apted to give him mine. After Five took my cup, I curled further into the couch and shut my eyes.

"Got anything stronger?" Five held up both cups and smiled.

I could hear thick liquid pouring into a glass cup. Five's sips were quiet, but I could still hear them even across the room. Groaning, I grabbed one of Vanya's throw pillows and covered my head with it.

"Is she alright?" Vanya asked.

"She'll be fine," Five brushed her off, "She's just a little tired, and she gets cranky when she's tired."

"Fuck off," I knew nobody could hear me.

Liquid sloshed in a cup as Vanya sighed, "Eight days?"

"Until the end of the world, yes," I never understood how Five managed to keep his voice so level and calm even in the most dire circumstances, "Clove and I both saw it. It's coming and I have no idea how."

Even without seeing them, I could feel Vanya staring at Five in disbelief. I couldn't blame her, I wouldn't believe him either. Nobody ever wanted to believe the end of the world was coming. Even when I stood in the apocalypse, watching the world end in fire, I didn't want to believe it. Everybody wants to wish the best for humanity and that involves believing the world is going to go on forever.

"Are you- are you sure?" Vanya asked.

Five slammed his cup on the table, "Of course I'm sure, I lived it."

"I mean, Dad always said time travel could mess with your mind," Vanya barely even breathed, "Are you sure this isn't that?"

Before Five even answered I knew she had done it. He didn't take lightly to someone arguing back and he took even worse to people accusing him of things. Already, I knew she had lost him and he would explode at any moment. Pulling the pillow off me, I propped myself up on my elbows and waited for the moment to arrive.

"I should've known," Five began to walk towards the door, "You don't believe me. No one does."

I turned to him, "Oh, we're leaving now?"

"Five, wait! I just got you back and I don't want to lose you again, is all" Vanya stopped him, "It's just- it's a lot to take in. It's getting late, and I have lessons early. I need sleep and so do you."

"She's right, we haven't slept in fifty-six years," I said, earning a glare from Five.

Vanya handed each of us a blanket, "Stay here for the night and we'll talk about this more in the morning. I promise."

Five only gave her a small nod packed with disbelief. Vanya bid us both goodnight and, giving Five one last worried look, vanished into her bedroom. I fell back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling, "I can see why she's your favorite."

"We really are on our own," Five pushed back his hair, "Come on, Clove, we're going."

"Aw, come on, Five, I just got comfy."

Five glanced over the couch at me, "It's the end of the world, Clove."

"Not yet," I lugged myself off the couch and followed him into the hall, "Technically we still have eight days."

Five stepped into the elevator with me just behind him, "Eight days and not a single lead."

"Well, we do still have the eye," I gestured to Five's pocket.

He pulled out the same velvet bag and porcelain eye he had been carrying around for the better half of a century. The fine lines in the cornea had become just as familiar to me as the lines on my hands. The amount of days and nights Five spent staring at that eye and contemplating were almost too much. I began to get sick of the eye before we even reached sixteen the first time.

We popped out of the building without anyone being the wiser. To my surprise, the sun was rising and everyone was just beginning to wake up. Things had been happening so fast, it felt like only a few minutes ago we arrived in 2019 from 1963 when it had really been an entire night and part of a day.

"We've got to find the owner of the eye," Five said as he slid into the driver's seat, "The company's main office is downtown."

"I suppose that's as good of a place as any to start. What about the Commission?" I asked as we rounded a corner.

Five rolled his head on his neck, "Shit, how could I forget about them?"

The Commission was just as much of a threat as the apocalypse, if not more. Five and I both knew very well they weren't after us for breaking a contract, they wouldn't have us murdered just for breaking a contract. No, they wanted us dead because they knew we were trying to stop the apocalypse. What was more, I think they knew we could succeed.

"They'll send more assassins after us since we murdered the first," Five muttered, "And they'll be even tougher, Commission Grade assassins this time. Not local hires."

"Simple solution," I said as we pulled into the alley by the Umbrella Academy, "You go check out Meritech and I'll scout the city for any Commission assassins."

Five put the car in park and turned to me, "We'll meet back here tonight, alright?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Alright, deal," I smiled at him, "And, Five?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get yourself killed."

"You're the one going after assassins," Five and I both climbed out of the car, "I should be telling you that."

I laughed and pulled Five into a hug. He liked to pretend he didn't like hugs but he was always willing to give me one. Secretly, I think he enjoyed them, even if he wouldn't let the rest of the world know. That's okay, I knew, and I never missed an opportunity to hug my best friend just in case there was never a chance again.

Five went into the Umbrella Academy as I began to walk down the street. The city was just beginning to wake up and most of its occupants were still fast asleep in their beds. The few people who did walk the streets, mostly business people, didn't even spare me a passing glance. 

It was interesting to walk among all these people as the only person who knew the world was about to end. In eight days, seven now, they would all die if Five and I didn't succeed and they were all blissfully unaware. I suppose it was better that way, peace in ignorance.

A corner store advertising two-for-one energy drinks caught my eye. I slowly veered to a stop and walked backwards until I was standing in front of the ad. A broad smile crossed my face, "Oh, I love the future."

I flung open the doors and practically danced inside of the corner store. A few people looked at me weirdly, but none spoke to me. I sauntered straight to the back fridge and filled my arms with four extra large cans of energy drinks. These would keep me hyped up with enough energy to last me a week and that was all I needed.

I dropped the energy drinks on the counter with a broad smile. The guy behind the register glanced between me and the energy drinks with a frown, "Your mom know you're here?"

"She sent me," I forced a smile and pushed forward the drinks.

The guy shrugged and rang me up. After paying, I carried my energy drinks out the door and began to walk down the street. I slammed drink after drink as I walked, feeling myself get more and more energetic with every step I took. By the time I finished the third can, my very eyesight was shaking let alone the rest of me.

My shields relied on my natural energy to form, if I didn't have any energy in my body I couldn't make a shield. Artificial energy like the sort in energy drinks and candy was enough to make a shield when I was depleted of natural energy, but it wouldn't be a good shield. Artificial energy shields were always ten times weaker than natural shields, and they wouldn't last half as long. They could, however, stop a bullet and that was all I needed.

"If I was an assassin, where would I be?" I muttered to myself.

Being an assassin myself once, I knew exactly how to answer that question. The only thing the commission loved more than murder was budget cuts, and that often impacted their most valuable workers. Assassins were almost put up in the cheapest, stinkiest, lousiest hotels the time and place could offer. More than once, Five and I found ourselves being forced to share a room. He nearly strangled me for sleep talking and I almost smothered him for snoring.

My guess was, if the commission assassins had already arrived, they would be in the motel by now. That was always the first place we were supposed to go in order to receive our orders from the commission. So, that is exactly where I went.

I checked three different sleazy motels but there was no sign of commission assassins. Each one was just as empty as the next. I'd ask the desk person if they had seen one or two people in matching dark blue suits, most likely with a package or letter waiting for them, and they would say no. Each one had the same results until I was walking down the street, dejectedly kicking a rock in front of me.

"Shit," I muttered, "A city full of shitty motels and not a single one housing hired assassins."

Griddy's Donuts stood in front of me, making me come to a full stop in my tracks. The police tape had been taken down and all the blood had been completely clean. You could hardly tell it had been the scene of a grim murder the night before. Patrons walked in and out as if nothing had ever happened behind the perfectly cleaned glass windows.

As an assassin, if I wasn't at the motel, I was following any leads I had to lead me to my desired target. For these assassins, that desired target was Five and me. The only lead they would have was the donut shop and any witnesses that might have been inside. The only witnesses was the waitress Agnes and-

"The tow truck driver," I gasped.

There was no doubt in my mind the assassins followed the tow truck driver. He had spoken to Five and given him the address for the department store Dolores was presumably at. The assassins would know he was their best bet in finding Five and me, if they didn't think he was Five. Turning back into thirteen-year-olds worked in our advantage because the commission still thought we were seniors.

They were after the tow truck driver, I knew it. I hurried to a nearby paper stand and opened the top paper to the advertisements. There, right in the middle, was an advertisement for his towing company and the address of the main auto shop. Folding the paper, I smiled, "Gotcha."

Hopefully I could make it before the assassins did anything to harm the driver. I dropped the paper and began to hurry down the street, weaving through crowds and ducking raised arms. I took back alleys and shortcuts until I finally made it to the auto shop.

It was dark inside, from my spot across the street all I could see was the white aluminum walls and the dark glass windows. The front door was slightly ajar. My senses were instantly on alert as I began to worry I wasn't the first one here.

I gently pushed the door open so it wouldn't make a sound. The machine shop was dark and empty, but I was sure it wasn't as empty as it appeared. Slowly stepping inside, I took careful steps around the cars until I could see into the middle of the room.

There were three people there but only two of them were alive. One, which I identified as the tow truck driver from the night before, hung limp and lifeless from chains tied to his wrists. Car jumper cables were attached to his earlobes and his nipples, marking a painful and prolonged death. Blood that had already dried covered his face and bits of the floor.

The two living people were exactly who I hoped not to see. Hazel and Cha Cha, formerly the second best but now the best assassins in The Commission. They had been partners for who even knows how long and were incredible at their jobs. Never once have they taken longer than a day to finish their mission, and I knew they had intentions of keeping that record.

Hazel was the milder of the two. I had never had a real conversation with him, only ever meeting him in passing, but he seemed like a truly gentle and kind man. He always offered the newest members of the Commission to have lunch with him on the rare occasions he was at the home office.

Cha Cha was the more gruesome and murderous of the two. Perhaps she had been born with mercy but it had been beat out of her a long time ago. She knew triggers better than she knew her own hands, sometimes I wondered if she forgot guns weren't a part of her hands. Blood was her moisturizer and doing the job right was her reason for getting up in the morning. Everything she did, she did for the Commission. She was dedicated to the mission and to protocol, often lecturing Hazel on breaking protocol.

They were whispering to each other and packing up their torture supplies. I watched them for a moment. I should have known it would be them The Commission sent. When you're going after the previous best assassins in the company, you send the second best assassins in the company. When they suddenly spun around, I groaned.

"Wait- shit," Cha Cha groaned, "Kid, how did you get in here?"

I rubbed my neck sheepishly, "Uh, he's my- er- Uncle. Yeah, he's my Uncle."

Hazel looked me up and down as Cha Cha rubbed her temples, "Great, now we're going to have to kill a kid."

"Wait a second," Hazel took a step forward and glanced at the drink in my hand, "What kid drinks energy drinks?"

I glanced at the nearly empty can in my hand and sighed. The jig was up, my cover was blown and they hadn't even said my name yet. I slammed down the last sip of my drink as Cha Cha glanced from Hazel to me, "The kind that has superpowers."

"Clove Thindrel," Hazel cocked his gun, "You're looking young."

I sighed and squished my can between my hands, "Alright, let's just get this over with. Will you throw that away for me, Hazel?"

I threw him the can, which he caught with his free hand. He tossed it in the trash can at his foot as Cha Cha rolled her eyes at him, "What? She asked nicely, I didn't want to be rude!"

"Just shoot her!" Cha Cha shouted.

Bullets began to rain down on me. I quickly flung up a shield. These were much shakier than shields made from my natural energy, and they fell just three seconds after making them. It wasn't enough to stop a machine gun, but it was enough to stop the shot guns Hazel and Cha Cha were using.

I began to sprint around the room desperately looking for some sort of weapon. The entire time, Hazel and Cha Cha kept shooting at me. Half my mind was focused on putting up shields while the other half focused on finding a weapon. That was what made my shields even weaker.

I dove behind a car as bullets echoed on the metal exterior. My breathing had become ragged and I barely noticed where their bullets had grazed my skin. One had lodged itself firmly in my shoulder, but my adrenaline was too strong for me to notice.

There was a tire iron lying on a table just a few feet away. It was positioned between my car and the next car over. I would have to sprint to get it before Hazel and Cha Cha began shooting again. 

"Come on, Clove," Cha Cha called, "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

Hazel continued, "Come out and we won't kill you or Number Five."

I peered over the car to see they were looking around for me. Hazel had his back turned to me as I was at Cha Cha's left. This was my best shot. Taking a deep breath, I sprinted over to the table and grabbed the tire iron, quickly ducking behind another car.

Hazel and Cha Cha began raining bullets just a moment too late. I snuck around the circle of cars, doing my best to stay out of sight of them as they searched for me. Cha Cha came to the opposite side of one of the cars I was hiding behind. I could see here through the window, giving me my best chance at actually getting a hit in.

With the ease of practice, I swung myself onto the top of the car and jumped onto Cha Cha's back. I swung my tire iron onto her shoulders, careful to miss her head, and forcing her to drop her gun. Hazel shot at me, but every single one of his bullets missed. I flung up a shield that kept his bullets from hitting me, but that didn't stop them from ricocheting.

One single bullet proved to be all of our downfalls. It ricocheted up to a car hanging off the ceiling above us. The bullet pierced the gas tank and the entire thing exploded.

All I registered was a giant boom that sent me soaring through a nearby window. I crashed landed and tumbled on the pavement, causing my clothes to rip in more places than they already were. I tumbled into the street as the entire auto shop blew up.

My ears were ringing as I glanced up at the burning shop in front of me. My head was throbbing and threatened to knock me out at any second, but I did my best to keep myself awake. I wasn't home free yet. As I could hear the distant sirens in the background, I saw Hazel and Cha Cha emerge from the ashes.

"Shit," I mumbled as I scrambled to get up, "Shit, shit, shit!"

"Hey, get back here you little shit!" Cha Cha shouted.

I began to sprint down the street with every ounce of strength I could possibly muster. Hazel and Cha Cha were hot on my heels, I didn't have to look back to tell. I could hear them shouting and breathing heavy as they struggled to follow me. That was one of the advantages of suddenly getting younger, I could outrun my older pursuers quite easily.

I took as many corners and short cuts as I could in an effort to lose them. Despite this, they remained hot on my tail. I managed to put a fair bit of distance between us before I rounded a corner and ran into something hard and warm.

I fell onto my butt as a somewhat familiar voice called, "Clove, what the hell are you doing?"

"Diego!" I shouted as I jumped up, "There's no time, we have to go!"

I grabbed his wrist and tried to drag him behind me, but he didn't even budge. He easily jerked his wrist from my grip making me fall over once again, "Oh, I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't trust you."

"There's no time!" I jumped back up and stomped my feet, "If we don't run right now, they'll kill you too!"

"You know, I'm really sick of you and Five having all these secrets and acting like you're bigger and better than the rest of us," Diego sneered at me, "Well, guess what? You're not, you're both just a couple of kids."

"Save the lecture, Diego, what part of 'we have to go' don't you understand!"

Our time ran out as Hazel and Cha Cha rounded the corner. I tried to make a shield as they raised my guns, but my energy drinks had worn off. All I got was a little shimmer and a farting sound, "Shit!"

I pushed Diego out of the way just in time for Hazel and Cha cha to start shooting. Diego ducked and glared at me, "What the hell is going on?"

"No time to explain, we have to go!"

Diego jumped in front of me and threw two knives. To my astonishment, they flew out past Hazel and Cha Cha and curved back to hit them each in the shoulders they used to hold their guns. Both assassins dropped their guns in pain as Diego grabbed my wrist and we both began to sprint away.

"Why are they trying to kill you?" Diego asked as we hopped a fence.

"Long story," I huffed, "Tell you later."

"I'm getting really sick of that."

"Diego, I can't run and talk at the same time!"

Diego glanced behind him to see Hazel and Cha Cha still in hot pursuit, "We're going to have to lose them."

"What do you think I've been trying to do?"

"Come on," he quickly turned a corner, "I know just where to go."

Diego led me on the route that had the most obstacles. We had to jump fences, duck billboards, jump through traffic, and even slid under a bridge. All of our twists and turns eventually made us lose Hazel and Cha Cha. We were able to slow down just as we came upon a small white bricked building without any windows.

"Oh thank God," I leaned on my knees and huffed, "I think I'm going to pass out."

Diego stepped toward the door, "Pass out when we get inside, I'm not carrying you in."

"You're so kind, Diego, truly."

"Ha ha."

Diego opened the door and let me inside. The gym was dimly lit, the only light coming from an old industrial light hanging above the boxing ring. It was entirely empty except for Diego and I, but I could still feel the life inside. The entire place reeked of sweat and body odor, making me cover my mouth and try not to gag.

I followed Diego all the way to a back room. The boiler room had become his home, or, at least as close to a home as you could get. His bed was held up by old milk cartons and storage bins, and he barely had any personal items. Most were books or old photographs. One in particular, a cross stitch with two knives and a domino mask under his name, stood out to me the most.

I stumbled inside and fell face first on his bed. Diego came in slightly slower, mumbling, "Make yourself at home."

"Too late," I spoke into the mattress, "Already did."

"Clove, don't-"

I was unconscious before he could finish his sentence.


	10. I Lost

"Shit," my voice was hoarse and growly.

My body abruptly woke up. Nothing should have startled me, but it had been such a long time since I slept through the night I think I forgot how. All at once, my entire body woke up. I could feel shivers run down my spine as my nerves flared in pain. My muscles tensed and untensed as my entire body tingled. It felt like my mind wasn't the only part of me that fell asleep.

I pushed myself onto my elbows and rubbed my eyes. For a moment, I forgot where I was or even how I got there. All I could register was the bed beneath me and the loud hum of something mechanical nearby.

"Mornin', Sunshine," a voice called.

My entire body seized. I jumped up, only to fall back on my butt. I pressed myself up against the wall and flung my hands up to make a shield but I was still too weak to do so.

"Whoa, calm down," Diego held his hands in the air, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I rubbed my temples, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"To be fair, I thought you were still passed out," he handed me a metal cup, "Here, drink this."

"What's this?"

"A protein shake."

"Why do I need this?"

"Because, you might think you're all that, but you're still human and humans need food," Diego sat down in a nearby chair, "When's the last time you ate?"

I swished the metal straw in the pink liquid and sighed, "Peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich."

"That's what I thought. Now, drink up. You'll like it, it's strawberry."

I took a gentle sip. Diego was right, I did like it. The shake was equal parts sweet, cold, and warm, like cold strawberry pie. I had only taken one sip and I was already in love with it. Swallowing another large sip, I smiled, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he stood and moved to a nearby corner to grab a bucket and a mop, "C'mon, we're going upstairs."

I tilted my head, "Why?"

"Because I have to mop and you've got some explaining to do."

I stood up much too quickly and my entire head began to spin. My entire body throbbed, but my shoulder seemed to throb the most. It was perfectly bandaged with gauze and medical tape, almost as if a surgeon themselves had done it. Only someone with a perfectly sturdy hand could bandage something so well. All at once, I remembered the shoot out with Hazel and Cha Cha at the auto shop and how I got shot in the shoulder.

"Did you do this?" I gestured to my bandage as we climbed the stairs.

Diego opened the door and I was quick to follow, "You were bleeding out, I'm pretty sure Five would kill me if I let you die."

For a moment, I wondered if that was all he cared about until he flashed me a mischievous grin. That alone told me he wouldn't have let me die whether I was Five's friend or not. Diego was always a deeply kind person who just wanted to make the world a better place and he was doing his absolute best to give it to the whole world.

"How long was I out?" I pushed myself up on the edge of the boxing ring.

Diego dropped his jacket on the other end along with a radio and his bag of knives, "About half an hour."

"Strange, it usually isn't that long," I sipped my shake, "It has been fifty-six years since I slept last."

Diego paused mopping and slowly turned to stare at me. I blinked before sheepishly smiling, "Sorry, time travel joke."

"Right," he continued to mop, "Now, care to tell me why we were just shot at and you nearly bled out all over my bed?"

"It's a very long story, fifty years worth of a story."

"You might as well start now," he spun the mop in his hand as he dunked it into the bucket, "Cause I'm not letting you leave until you tell me."

"Now, that's not fair."

Diego flashed me a grin, "Welcome to the real world."

I took a long sip of my shake and sighed. It really was the longest story, I wasn't sure how I could possibly explain every detail in one night. What's more, I wasn't sure if it was my story to tell. Yes, I was there, and yes, we went through all of the same things, but Diego wasn't my brother. He was Five's, and I was sure Five would want to tell his family the story if he even wanted to tell them at all. I didn't want to take that away from him.

"What happened before doesn't matter," I did my best to dodge his questions, "What matters is that we escaped and now we have to warn Five."

Diego glanced over his shoulder at me, "So they're after you and Five?"

"In short, yes."

"Why?"

I hung my head and groaned, "You're really not going to let this go, are you?"

"We just got shot at," Diego responded, "I think I deserve an answer."

I sighed deeply and tried to think of the best way to summarize the story enough for him to let me go but not enough to steal the story from Five. After taking another long sip of my shake, I finally spoke, "Long story short, Five and I used to work for this corporation. We were on a contract to work for so long and then retire, but we were only using it to bid our time until Five could figure out how to time travel back. When he did, we broke our contract by coming here and now they're after us."

"What?" Diego paused and leaned on his mop, "What kind of corporation hires assassins to murder their former employees?"

I shrugged, tilting my cup forward, "The really and truly evil ones."

"And they won't stop until they kill you?"

"Or until we kill them," I played with the remaining shake with my straw, "Whatever comes first."

Diego stared at me, "You know that's kind of unbelievable, right?"

"And, yet, here we are," I sipped my shake and stared at him.

The radio on the opposite edge of the ring roared to life. Static echoed through the gym making me wince slightly and have to resist the urge to cover my ears. A far away voice followed the static, "10-90, shots fired. All units requested to Gimbel Brothers."

Diego didn't hesitate in running to grab the radio and his bag. Abandoning my cup on the boxing ring, I sprinted to keep up with him, "You're a cop?"

"Not exactly," he hurried to his car in the alley, "And you're not coming with me."

He slid into the driver's seat as I slid into the passenger's, "Come on, Mister Wanna-Be-Cop, you know you can't leave me behind."

"First of all, I'm not a wanna be cop, I'm a hero."

"Sure."

"Secondly," Diego held up two fingers, "I work alone, you're not coming."

I crossed my arms and smirked, "You said you wanted answers, and the only way you're going to get them is if you let me come."

"And why is that?"

"I can see why you're not a cop," I rolled my eyes, "Don't you think it's odd how there was a shooting at Griddy's, the auto shop, and Gimbel Brothers all within twelve hours of each other?"

"You think it's your assassins?" Diego breathed.

I smiled, "I know it is, and, if I'm right, I know who else was there too."

I did my best to hide my worry from Diego. Deep down, I knew Hazel and Cha Cha had gotten the address from the tow truck driver and ambushed Five as he went to get Dolores. He was supposed to be scouting out Meritech, not going to find his old girlfriend. I should have known he would go alone, he would've wanted to have his privacy with Dolores.

Diego put the car into gear and began to speed off down the street. I began to miss Five's driving as Diego took every sharp turn that he could. Just when I thought Five was the worst driver I had ever met, Diego was ten times worse. I found myself gripping the seat with my legs and hands just to keep from getting flung into the door.

"How did you know about Griddy's?" Diego muttered.

I had my eyes clenched shut as tightly as they would go, "What?"

"How did you know about Griddy's?"

"I suppose saying I read the paper isn't a good enough answer."

Diego smiled at me, "You'd be right."

"Wonderful," I grumbled, "Fine, I was there. Five and I both were. The bodies they found were assassins sent after us."

Diego hesitated. When we came upon a stoplight, he slammed his foot into the brake and turned to me, "Did you kill them?"

"No, we ran away and they all shot each other," I rolled my head on my neck to gaze at him with a disbelieving expression.

"Clove, you killed people!"

"Yes, I am very well aware of that, shouting it doesn't change it!"

"Who did you work for, Clove?" Diego demanded.

"I can't tell you because it isn't my story to tell," I responded, "As you and your brother have made oh-so-clear, I am not family, but Five is. If he wants to tell you, he will tell you, I've already said too much as it is."

I crossed my arms and kept my gaze on the window. Diego kept driving, but I could feel him glancing at me every so often. As hard as I tried to put on a tough exterior, I knew I couldn't do it. I've killed a lot of people in my life and I never wanted to kill a single one of them. Each one, their blood is on my hands, and I would have to live with that.

"I didn't want to kill anyone," I whispered, "It was the only way out."

"Out of what?" Diego's voice was surprisingly soft.

"The end," I turned to gaze at him, "The end of everything."

"You mean- the apocalypse?" Diego asked.

I kept my gaze outside of the front window, "We were the only ones left alive in a barren wasteland. For forty-five years, we were alone, do you know what that's like?"

"N-n-no," Diego muttered, "I c-can't imagine it."

I wiped the one tear falling from my eye before Diego could notice, "It was Hell. All we wanted was to get out. So, when someone came with an offer, we took it. That was all we could do."

Diego didn't say anything after that and I didn't want to offer anything else up. I had already said too much as it was, and I couldn't take it back. We drove the rest of the way in silence, with me staring at the window trying to hide the tears hanging in my eyes.

We arrived at Gimbel Brothers to see the police had already arrived and were taping it up. Diego jumped out with me close behind. Having seemingly forgotten the previous moments events, he acted just like he always did, "Let's go around the back."

"I take it the police don't like vigilantes showing up and doing their job for them," I casually followed Diego as he stalked much like a spy towards the back of the building.

He always kept his back to the wall and ducked behind everything he possibly could. There was a knife in his hand the whole way but I knew he wouldn't use it. I followed casually, with my arms crossed across my chest and my eyebrow raised.

"I'm not a vigilante," Diego pointed his knife at me.

"Right, sorry, you're a hero."

Diego grinned, "I'm not trying to sneak around the cops, I'm trying to sneak around her."

"Who?"

"Detective Patch."

"A friend of yours?" I asked as Diego crouched in front of the back door and began to pick the lock.

He twisted his knife in ways I would never understand, "You could say that."

The lock clicked and Diego swung open the door. We stepped into the back halls and employee break rooms of Gimbels Brothers. Several large laundry baskets and racks were overflowing with clothing, and most of the lockers were open. Only a single light was on in the hall.

We made our way to the main room to find it absolutely covered with police. They were taping off everything; from the front doors all the way to the baby clothes in the back. Nothing went untouched by these guys. It seemed like their efforts were concentrated on the rows of clothes to the front.

Bullet casings littered the ground around ripped clothing and dismantled mannequins. Some of the lights had been shot out and a sign on the ceiling was hanging by a single chain. One of the front windows had been smashed, but the glass still remained pieced together.

"Oh no," I whispered.

The place had all the markings of a gun fight when one side didn't have a gun. I prayed to every deity I could think of that this was just normal burglars who got caught, and that Five had never been here. Diego crouched next to the bullet casings and lifted one up with his gloved hand, "This look familiar?"

I crouched next to him, careful not to touch the bullet as I didn't have any gloves, "Unfortunately, yes, our assassins were for sure here."

My worry only began to grow. I hurriedly glanced around but there was no sign of my friend, injured or uninjured. I began to think the worst just as a disapproving voice called, "Recruiting kids now, Diego?"

A woman stood just above Diego with a frown. The way Diego reacted with both a smile and an eye roll told me this was Detective Patch, his kinda friend. I could see why he wanted to avoid her, it wasn't hard to tell that she was a stickler for the rules. Her entire outfit was fashionable, functional, and yet entirely up to uniform standards without being a full uniform. She kept her badge cleaned and shined just like her boots. Part of me expected her to grade me on my breathing techniques let alone everything else.

The way she frowned at Diego told me this wasn't the first time he broke into a crime scene and she was beginning to get sick of it. The way they reacted to each other was that of old friends, two who had known each other for years. They know who the other is and exactly how they got there. They're sick of each other but wouldn't know what to do without each other.

"I'm not a kid," I argued.

Diego flung out his hand to stop me, and I quickly pushed him away. Standing to look Detective Patch in the eye, Diego grinned, "She might have a lead."

"Oh, really?" Patch smirked at Diego, "And how could a kid help us?"

"The shooters? They're assassins, after-"

"Diego!" I jumped up and interrupted him.

"What?" he turned to glare at me, "This is a crime scene, Clove, we have to help."

"We have nothing to say," I spoke through gritted teeth.

Diego frowned at me as Patch tilted her head, "Is this your sister?"

"What, no," Diego and I both answered.

"Funny," Patch smiled, "You're both stubborn jerks."

Diego smiled as I frowned deeply. My eyes moved past Patch to see a set of three mannequins. One was on the floor, but only her bottom. Anything from the hips up had seemingly disappeared and I knew exactly where it went. My eyes widened as my heart dropped, "Dolores."

Five had been there. He had gone to get Dolores and Hazel and Cha cha had found him. There was no sign of him, so I knew he had gotten out, but he could be injured. I had to find him and my ride was deep in a conversation with Detective Patch.

"Diego, a word," I grabbed his sleeve and, without giving him an option, I dragged him several feet from Patch.

"Clove, what the hell?" Diego jerked his arm from my grip, "We were just getting somewhere!"

I spun to face him and cross my arms, "Your little flirt session will have to wait, we have to get back to the Academy."

"I wasn't flirting," Diego glared at me, "What are you thinking, we just got here."

"Yeah, and now we have to go."

"Why?"

I stared at him for a moment before sighing, "The same assassins that came after us came here for Five. And they found him."

"How do you know?"

"He came here for an old friend," my eyes went to Dolores' abandoned bottom half, "And he found her."

Diego followed my gaze, looking more confused as he did. When he turned back to me, I met his eyes, "Five could be injured and he needs our help. We have to go back to the Academy to find him."

"How do you know he's there?" Diego asked.

"Because," I smiled, "He promised. Now, we have to go."

"Everything alright, Diego?" Patch walked up behind us curiously.

Diego spun to her and smiled, "Yeah, Patch. Something came up and we- we have to go."

"So soon?" Patch teased, "Too much heroism for one night?"

Diego rolled his eyes. As we turned to go, Patch grabbed his arm, "I've got three shootings all with witnesses claiming they saw the same guys in kids masks shooting up the place. If you have any leads, I'm all ears."

"I think I might have an idea who's behind this," Diego smiled, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

I frowned, "Technically I had the idea."

Nobody heard me, or they ignored me. Diego nodded at Patch, "If I find anything else out, I'll let you know."

Patch released Diego and we began to hurry out of the store, this time through the front entrance. I didn't hesitate in jumping in the car as Diego put it into gear. We sped off down the street, the entire time, my worry for my friend only grew.


	11. This Is Why I Don't Socialize

I had jumped out of the car before Diego even put it in park. He parked crooked in his rushed attempt to follow me. I was halfway to the front door by the time he finally caught up.

"Whoa, Clove, slow down," Diego spoke as I pushed open the doors, "I didn't think such a small person could go so fast."

"Choose your next words carefully, Diego."

Diego raised his hands, "Sorry, no height comments, I get it. What are you so worried about?"

"I'm worried about my best friend," I took the stairs two at a time, "He was just in a shootout with the assassins I barely escaped, of course I'm worried about him."

We rounded a corner to find Luther and Allison taking up the entire staircase. Once again, I was absolutely floored with how massive Luther was, but just his top half. Something was off, that was for sure. His legs seemed normal when compared to his head, but the rest of him was much broader than it should be. It was a wonder he didn't tilt over.

"Diego, what are you doing here?" Luther was instantly apprehensive.

Diego matched his attitude, "What, am I not allowed to come home anymore?"

"What he means to say," Allison stepped between her two brothers, "We were just looking for you."

"Really? That's a surprise."

Luther rubbed his neck, "We need to talk."

"I've heard all I need to hear from you."

"It's about Grace."

"You mean Mom," Diego's arms fell as his entire demeanor became instantly softer, "What about her?"

Luther and Allison both exchanged worried glances. I tugged my hat further on my head and glanced between them, "Have either of you seen Five?"

"He's in his room," Allison jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "Is everything alright?"

"Fine, totally fine."

"Really? Because both you and Five are covered in blood."

I opened my mouth to respond but Diego held up his hand, "Allow me. It's a long story."

"A very long story," I pushed past Allison and Luther.

The two seemed disgruntled but they were too focused on their own issues to care. They were back in a conversation before I even left the stairs. I spun around the corner, nearly losing my footing, and hurried to Five's room.

He had the door slightly ajar, allowing me to push it open. Five's back was to me when I stepped inside, he only noticed when I shut the door behind me. He had taken off his jacket and was preparing a needle and some thread to do his own stitches.

"Let me help," I took the needle and thread from my friend.

Five glanced up at me, "What happened to you?"

His eyes went to the bandage on my shoulder. I gestured to the wound I was just beginning to sew, "I should be asking the same question."

"I met the new assassins," Five winced as I poked the needle through his skin, "Somehow, they figured out I'd be at Gimbel Brothers, getting Dolores."

He nodded his head to the nearby chair. Only then did I see Dolores, only her top and missing an arm, propped up in it. She looked just as she did the last time I saw her, completely bald and covered in some sort of dust. Her black and white spotted blouse hadn't changed in fifty years, and she still bore the same relaxed smile. Looking at her, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. It was like I was back home again. The dynamic trio; Five, Dolores, and me, back together again.

"Good to see you, Dolores," I nodded at the mannequin before returning to my sewing, "It was the tow truck driver."

"What?" Five wrinkled his eyebrows and lifted half his mouth in confusion.

"The tow truck driver from Griddy's, the one who gave you the address," I explained, "When I was looking for the new assassins, I went to his auto shop, and- well- I found them."

"And the driver?"

"Dead, possibly tortured."

"Of course," Five exhaled deeply, wincing whenever I poked him, "Is that how you got your bullet wound?"

I nodded, "They spotted me, and they began shooting. I made it out and ran straight into Diego."

"Diego?"

"Yeah, Diego," I chuckled, "On his way to be a hero."

"Typical," Five shook his head, "They caught me in the department store. I barely made it out, my powers suddenly stopped working."

I paused my sewing to glare at him. He gazed back a moment before groaning, "Yes, I know what you're going to say, 'I can't live on coffee'. I'm not dead yet, am I?"

"Nearly," I sighed, "I don't have room to talk, I almost died in the auto shop because I was running on four energy drinks."

"Energy drinks?"

"I love the future."

Five stared at my grinning face for a moment before rolling his eyes. I tugged the last bit of thread through and tied it off. Placing the remaining thread and bloody needle on the desk, I grabbed a train band aid from the box Five had already opened. As I put the bandaid over his wound, Five asked, "Did you get a good look at them?"

"They didn't have their masks when I snuck up on them," I gently pushed the bandaid on, "It's Hazel and Cha Cha, Five."

Five hesitated for a moment. We had never worked with Hazel and Cha Cha, but we heard of them. They were the second best assassins in the commission, now the best after our departure. Of all the assassins to send after us, they were the most dangerous and the most likely to halt our plans.

"Shit," Five groaned, "I should've known, of course they would send Hazel and Cha Cha."

I fell to sit with him and shrug, "They are the best assassins in the commission, after all."

"They are now, don't forget, that was our title just two days ago."

"They know what we're up to, Five," I leaned my elbows on my legs, "They wouldn't send their best assassins after a simple broken contract."

They knew what we were doing, that much was obvious in their choice of assassins. If it was just a contract breach, they'd hire more locals until someone finally managed to get a bullet through. This was about so much more than that. Five ran a hand through his hair and stood, "That just means we're on the right path."

"Or they're just sick of hearing about it," I leaned back and watched Five zip Dolores into an army green duffel bag, "It's dangerous, Five. Of all the assassins in the Commission, they have the best chance of actually stopping us."

Five shouldered the bag with Dolores in it, "I thought you were the lucky clover."

"I am, but I have a feeling you're about to leave that luck again," I stood and crossed my arms.

"The only lead we have is the eye, and the doctor isn't giving me anything," Five stuffed his free hand in his pocket, "My best bet is to stalk out Meritech, and I can't do that with my siblings hovering around."

"Oh?"

"They somehow manage to be both painfully absent and annoyingly underfoot," Five rubbed his temples, "They would want to help, or to stop me, neither of which I can have. The last time they tried to stop the apocalypse- they all died."

Five hesitated as his eyes fell to the floor and his one free hand curled into a tight fist. I stepped forward and placed my hands on his shoulders. Smiling, I said, "You go, find the one eyed man, I'll distract the family."

Five had spent fifty years hanging onto the last piece of his family he had; a porcelain eye he found clutched in his dead brother's hand. He had come back for one reason and one reason only, and that was to save his family. I knew he wanted to stay with them, but his duty was to protect them and he couldn't do that from here. We both knew it was best for him to go after the eye while I distracted his loving family.

"Lucky Clover," Five smiled, "Thanks, Clove."

I smiled and pulled him into a hug, "Call me if anything interesting happens, alright?"

Five laughed. He moved to the window and crawled out, giving me one last smile before he vanished down into the alley. I could hear Klaus talking to him as I shut the window.

As soon as it was closed, the house became eerily quiet. It was an unfamiliar familiar place to be, in the sense that I felt like I knew it through Five's stories but I had only ever been there through his stories. I felt like I didn't belong, that the only person who might've wanted me there just left. 

I couldn't stop them from going after Five from the bedroom. The halls were empty as I walked through, but I could hear distant voices. I wasn't entirely sure where they came from, they seemed to echo in all directions.

There was still nothing good to drink in the kitchen. I found myself craving an energy drink, but I also felt like I didn't really need it. Diego's protein shake had woken me up and given me a burst of energy I hadn't felt since I was young- the first time. I felt wide awake and ready to run for the first time in ages.

I settled on a glass of chocolate milk. Taking slow sips, I sauntered to the empty living room and plopped down on one of the couches. The portrait of Five stared down at me with a sort of cold malice I knew didn't come from him. Reginald Hargreeves was in everything, including foreboding artworks of the children he lost. They were a warning, not a memorial.

The voices steadily got louder as I gently sipped my chocolate milk. I pulled my legs underneath me and patiently waited for the inevitable. Luther finally came around the corner, it was his booming voice that echoed through the entire house. Allison and Diego were hot on his tail. All of them were deep in a conversation, one which abruptly stopped when they saw me.

"Bonsoir," I bounced my eyebrows as I took a long sip.

"Great, you're here," Luther flung up his hand and let it fall, "Where's Five?"

"Who's asking?"

"Really?"

I shrugged. Allison placed a hand on Luther's shoulder and gazed at me, "It's important, Clove, we need to know where he is."

"He could be anywhere, really," I took another, long, sip, "He's very elusive."

Diego rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "She knows."

"Yeah, no shit," Luther glared at his brother."

"You wanna start something?"

"Boys, please," Allison held up her hands and sighed, "Clove, we need to know where Five is."

I leaned back and smiled, "And I need a full night's sleep, yet here we are."

Luther finally had enough of my antics. He slammed his fists on the arm of the couch, making the end I was on launch in the air. My now empty cup fell behind the couch as I landed flat on my face on the rug below. My hat fell into my eyes as I laid on my stomach. Pushing it back, I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at him, "Now that was uncalled for."

"Look, frankly I'm a little pissed off that you're still here, but that doesn't matter right now," Luther frowned deeply, "We have an urgent family matter to attend to and we need to know where Five is."

Diego had vanished at this point. I don't know where he was, but I found myself wishing he'd come back so I didn't have to be the one to kick Luther's ass. It was up to me, however, and I quickly rose to the occasion. I ripped my hat off as I jumped up, getting up in Luther's face with a sneer, "Last I checked, this wasn't just your house. Five wants me here so here I am."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I smirked, "To keep you from going after him."

Luther looked like he wanted to punch me, but he kept himself from doing so. He took a deep breath and glared at me, "Where is Five, Clove? I'm not asking again."

"I'm not answering again," I spat, "He's a little preoccupied and can't come to the phone, may I take a message?"

"That's it, I've had it," Luther took a step back.

Allison grabbed his arm, "Luther, calm down."

"Take a deep breath, big guy," I jumped over the coffee table and began to walk around the angry man, "I'll get out of your hair, you can relax."

Luther only glared at me as I stepped into the hall. My blood was on fire but it quickly turned to ice the moment I stepped outside the room. I fell onto the stairs and propped my chin on my elbow, sighing deeply.

Being born without a home was painful enough, it didn't help that Luther kept sticking knives in my wound. The only home I ever had was three crumbling walls, a mannequin without an arm, and a crazy man always yelling about time travel. You know it's bad when the only home you ever had was in the literal apocalypse.

The front door opened and Diego walked through with Klaus close behind. When Klaus saw me, he waved, "Lucky Clover!"

"Hey, Klaus," I waved with a small smile.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Klaus fell to sit next to you, "Something got you blue?"

"Your brother is an ass."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific than that."

"She's talking about Luther," Diego glared at the entrance to the living room, "What did he say to you?"

I spread my fingers and shrugged, never once removing my chin from my hand. Klaus flung an arm around my shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry about the big guy, Clover, he sat on a stick a long time ago and we haven't seen it since."

I snorted, covering my face to stifle a laugh. Klaus flung his hands up, "She laughs! Mission successful."

"C'mon, Klaus, we better go inside," Diego glanced at me as Klaus stood, "You going to find Five?"

I shook my head, "I'll just stay right here and entertain myself by counting the bulbs on the chandelier."

Diego chuckled and shook his head. Klaus followed a few feet behind him as they went to the living room. Turning back to me, he whispered, "There's thirty-three."

I grinned as Klaus vanished into the living room. As I stared at the umbrellas carved into the door, I absent-mindedly ran my fingers over the carpet. It might have once been soft, but it had long since gotten coarse with people walking on it. I could feel the life inside it even when the house reeked of death.

The most foreboding place in the house was the front hall, exactly where I sat. The gothic staircase gave it the feel of a castle where you'd expect Dracula to live. I wouldn't be surprised if a man-bat suddenly descended from the cavernous ceiling and drained me of all my blood. The chandelier didn't provide much like, making ample conditions for vampires.

"Maybe he was a vampire," I muttered.

The front door opened once again and Vanya stepped in. Every move she made was timid, like she was trying to will herself out of existence. Even whenever we had a direct conversation, she would never look up, seemingly being more interested in my shoes than me. It made me wonder what hell this girl must have gone through to want to pull herself out of existence.

"Clove," Vanya stepped forward, "You're here, I was so worried about you."

I lifted an eyebrow, "You were worried about me?"

"You and Five showed up bleeding and suddenly disappeared. I found Five, but I couldn't find you."

For a moment, I just stared at her and blinked. It was difficult to comprehend that she would have even noticed let alone worried. Right then and there, I realized Vanya had a heart made of gold and silver, but someone had spent years trying to beat it out of her.

"Thanks, Vanya, that means a lot," I let my arm drop, "I'm alright, it's just been a long two days."

Vanya smiled and gave me a short nod before hurrying off with her siblings. Once again, I propped my chin in my hand and sighed. It had only been a few seconds of Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya in one room together and they had already started yelling at each other.

"This is gonna be a long night," I ran my hand down my face.


	12. Knock Knock, Get The Door, It's Murder

The yelling continued for what seemed like hours. The only one who never once raised her voice was Vanya, and I could barely hear her. Even though the doors to the living room were wide open, all I could hear was a steady stream of loud voices and that was it. I ended up covering my ears and pulling my hat down over my face in an attempt to block them out.

I wondered if every family meeting ended up like this. It sounded like there was no real talking, just yelling and arguing. Even Allison was yelling and I expected her to play the mediator. It was a wonder they ever got anything done.

The yelling abruptly ended with Luther storming out. He stomped up the stairs and past me, not even giving me a single glance. I leaned back to watch him go, "Hello to you too, Luther!"

"Don't mind him," Allison sighed as she followed him, "He just got a little upset."

Diego stormed through and rushed down a nearby hall. Allison sighed yet again as she watched him go, "He did too."

"With all that yelling, I can't imagine anything less," I mumbled.

Allison smiled, "A classic Hargreeves family reunion."

She began to climb the stairs with a weak wave towards me. I returned the gesture, propping my head on my elbow once again. I had to wonder if this was what all family was like, all arguing and no support. The movies always said otherwise, but how much could you really trust the movies? Perhaps this is what family really was like and I had lucked out this entire time.

"Lucky Clover," I muttered as I lugged myself to a standing position.

I tugged my hat down on my head as I slowly made my way into the living room. It was completely abandoned, except for Vanya, he sat with her head in her hands on one of the couches. She seemed just as exasperated as the rest of the family but with a milder way of showing it. Tilting my head, I smiled, "I could go for a drink, would you like one?"

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" Vanya asked as I stepped behind the bar.

I dug out two cups and pointed at her with one of them, "Don't let my looks fool you, I'm actually your elder."

"Right, sorry, I keep forgetting."

"You wouldn't be the only one," I began to pour the drinks, "Getting older is one thing, getting younger is another thing entirely."

"Really?" Vanya asked.

I stepped around the bar with both drinks, "When you get older, death becomes a very present thing in your life. I expected the next stage to be dying, not suddenly doing it all over again."

I handed Vanya her drink as she stared at me. Taking a long sip, I smiled, "I do miss reaching the top shelf, though."

Vanya laughed and took a sip of her drink, "I bet the lack of arthritis is nice."

"Oh, so pleasant," I opened and closed my fists rapidly, "You never know what you have until it's gone, and boy did I miss my fingers."

Vanya chuckled. I stepped around the couch with full intentions of sitting next to her and continuing our conversation, but something caught my eye. A flash of blue and pink moved in the corner of my vision followed by the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking.

Hazel and Cha Cha stood in the hall with their guns raised. Their masks had been extended, making them metal and bulletproof. Hazel's blue bear mask with bloody dead eyes was the one that haunted me the most. Cha Cha's was almost pleasant. Like a pink cartoon character with long floppy ears.

"Shit," I downed my drink as they cocked their guns, "Vanya, run!"

I tossed my cup over my shoulder just as Hazel and Cha Cha began shooting. Vanya screamed, ducking behind the couch and shivering as she did. Before any of the bullets could reach us, I flung up my hands and created a thick shield that blocked the door. Hazel and Cha Cha had to duck to avoid getting hit by ricocheting bullets.

"You have powers?!" Vanya shouted.

"Yes, now we have to go!" I glanced over my shoulder at her, "Run, Vanya, this won't hold for long!"

She began to sprint across the room and vanished behind a door. Hazel shot another bullet, this one went straight through my shield. I ducked just in time for it to pierce the portrait of Five, right between his eyes.

"Bit ironic, don'tcha think?" I bounced up and grinned at the assassins.

"I don't know how many battles you've been in," Cha Cha cocked her gun, "But there isn't usually this much talking."

I flung up my hands and smirked, "I bet more than you."

A shield appeared around Hazel and Cha Cha. They began to slam the butts of their guns into the sides, and I could feel it trembling. It was just enough for me to run around them and vanish into the hallway.

My intent was to warn the others and hopefully get them out before Hazel and Cha Cha could cause anymore damage. They were after Five and me, but, unfortunately, they were just gonna get me. I promised Five I would take care of his family, and this was included. They had to get out and fast.

I rounded a corner to run straight into Diego. Once again, I fell onto my butt and shouted, "We have to stop meeting like this!"

"What's happening?" he had a knife in each hand as he glanced around.

"They're back," I jumped up, "Hazel and Cha Cha."

"Who?"

"The assassins."

Hazel and Cha Cha rounded the same corner I did and cocked their guns. They began to shoot and Diego ducked behind a wall. I dove behind an overturned table and watched as Diego threw knives. One bounced off of Cha Cha's helmet as the other nicked Hazel's arm.

I grabbed the nearest item I could, a heavy metal vase, and flung it at them. Cha Cha easily dodged but it slammed Hazel right in the shoulder. He stumbled back long enough for Diego to lunge forward and tackle Cha Cha.

"Shoot him!" Cha Cha shouted.

Hazel didn't respond as I tackled him. It was impossible to get through the thick metal helmets the Commission gave all their assassins, but the rest of them were free. I grabbed Diego's knife off the floor and plunged it straight into Hazel's arm.

"Ow! Was that really necessary?" Hazel pushed me off.

"You're shooting at me!"

"It's just the job, kid!"

"Hazel! Quit holding a conversation with the target and shoot something!" Cha Cha shouted.

She finally managed to kick Diego off and fumbled for her gun. Rather than give her the chance, I quickly pushed myself up on my arms and flew my legs forward. I kicked Cha Cha's gun several feet away from her and jumped up to sprint to Diego.

"Was that a breakdancing move?" he asked as we sprinted through the halls.

I ducked a bullet, "I did my stint in the nineties."

We ran straight to the open halls over the living room. From there, we could see the couches and even the hall. Diego ran to one of the railings and said, "We have to jump."

"What the hell," I grabbed onto one of the railings, "I've done worse."

Diego and I each flipped over the railing just in time for Hazel and Cha Cha to start shooting again. I landed on my face on one of the couches. As bullets started raining over the living room, I dove behind the couch and hid under a decorative table. Diego was fast to join me, holding a knife the entire time.

"Are you actually going to use one of those?" I gestured to the knife.

"This is my last one," he responded, "Gotta make it count."

I was about to clap back when we heard loud footsteps running down the stairs. The unmistakable sound of a gun cocking echoed through the entire living room, sending chills down my spine. I could hear the two assassins slowly making their way through the living room door.

Their pursuit was interrupted by a loud shout followed by a crash. I jumped up in time to see Luther retreating from throwing Hazel across the room and Allison drop kicking Cha Cha to land next to Hazel.

"I had that," Diego pointed at the assassins.

"We absolutely did not," I huffed, "Thank you."

Allison raised her hand at me, "At least someone's grateful."

"Who the hell are these people?" Luther demanded.

"Don't ask me," Diego raised his hands, "Ask Clove, they're her assassins."

"They're what?"

I frowned, "Technically they're the ones trying to kill me."

"They're after you?"

"And Five."

"What?!"

"Heads up! Diego shouted.

Cha Cha had gotten her gun back and already shot several rounds at us. It was too late to duck out of the way, and there was only one more choice. I jumped in front of Luther, Diego, and Allison and flung up my hands. A shield riveting with blue energy appeared like a dome above us, keeping all of us safe from the bullets still raining down.

"Wha-" Allison gasped, "You have powers?!"

I winced as the bullets hit my shield, "More or less."

"How?" Luther asked.

My shield slowly got more cracks in it, "No time, this is about to come down and we'll have to run."

The last bullet in Cha Cha's gun hit my shield and it shattered like glass. As if on cue, all of us ran out. Cha cha began to sprint away just to give herself enough time to reload her gun.

Allison, Diego, and I followed her as Luther stayed behind to fight Hazel. Cha Cha sprinted all the way to the kitchen. As she ran towards the door, I flung up a shield and made her crash face first into a solid surface.

"Think you want to rumor this bitch?" Diego asked his sister.

"Don't need too," Allison cracked her knuckles, "Because I'm about to kick her ass."

Cha Cha got to her feet and cracked her neck, "We just want the kids!"

"Oh, well, in that case."

Allison placed a firm kick on Cha Cha's chest, making her fall through my shield. She tumbled head over heels as her gun flew across the room. Within seconds, she was up, and we were all on top of her.

All three of us began to fight. I lost track of who was throwing the punches while someone else threw the kicks. Someone flipped Cha Cha while the other kneed her straight in the gut, making her lose her breath.

Eventually, she managed to break out of our grip and run through the house. Allison grabbed a nearby letter opener and handed it to Diego, who had lost his last knife, "Get her."

He flung the opener and I watched it curve to hit Cha Cha straight in the butt. Cackling, I exclaimed, "That was awesome!"

Cha Cha vanished upstairs and we were close to follow. We met Luther in the main hall, which seemed even scarier after being attacked by assassins there. All of us were breathing hard as we met right in the middle of the room.

"Clove, what the hell is going on here?" Luther demanded.

I huffed, "It's a long story."

"Isn't that surprising?" Diego muttered, earning a glare from me.

"You have powers?" Allison suddenly asked.

I glanced up at her, "We're still on that?"

"Yes, we're still on that?"

"Look out!" Luther suddenly shouted.

He pushed Diego and Allison out of the way, and grabbed my arm to fling me across the room. Cha Cha was standing on the floor above us, the letter opener she got from Diego plunged straight into the rope holding the metal chandelier. It came crashing down on Luther as Cha Cha ran away.

The entire thing looked more like a medieval torture device. With wrought iron twisting in all directions and hindering the light bulbs from giving off any functional light. Any normal person would've been killed with that entire thing coming down on them, but not Luther.

Allison, Diego, and I all watched in shock as Luther stood slowly. His shirt ripped off, revealing the ape-like body beneath. His large size came from his torso being closer to that of a gorilla than that of a man. He was covered in hair and leathery skin. It suddenly made sense why he was always wearing so many layers that covered every inch of his torso.

"Oh my God," Allison breathed.

Diego gasped, "Holy shit."

I didn't know what to say. Five left out the part of his brother being half ape, though I wasn't entirely sure if he knew. Luther glanced at each of us and rushed upstairs, not even giving us an explanation.

"Did you know?" Diego whispered to Allison.

She shook her head, "No- no I didn't."

They stared off in the direction their brother went with astounded expressions. I stood up just in time to feel everything catch up with me. A wave of exhaustion hit and my bullet wound made my entire body ache. I stumbled slightly and rubbed my head, groaning.

I moved into the living room and fell face-first onto the couch. One of my arms hung off, allowing my hand to rest on the ground. I shut my eyes and groaned, ready to sleep for the next six days.

"Believe it or not, that's not the most surprising thing of the night," I could hear Allison's heels click on the tile as she walked into the living room, "Why didn't you tell us you had powers, Clove?"

"I didn't think it mattered," I mumbled into the couch.

Diego sat on the coffee table by my head, "It matters. How long have you had them."

"Same as you," I grumbled, "Since I was born."

Allison stood by my feet, "When were you born?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"What do you mean?"

I rolled over to look at both of them, "Dear old Mummy decided she didn't want a child, and abandoned me at a convent when I was a baby. She didn't even give me a name, I did that for her."

"When did you arrive at the covent?" Diego asked.

"Tenth of October."

'What year?"

"1989."

"Oh my God," Allison gasped, "I think she's one of us."

Diego glanced up at her, "Can't be, we're the only ones."

"Obviously not, I mean, Dad never told us the full truth on anything. What if there were more babies born like us?"

"Save your breath," I raised my hand, "I always wanted to be one of you but it's so painfully obvious I'm not. I always wanted to be a part of something, to be a part of a family, but the only family I've ever had is Five. That's it. I'm not one of you, I'm just me."

I had spent most of my childhood dreaming that I was a member of the Umbrella Academy. Not so much because they did fantastic things like stop bank robbers and save the Eiffel Tower, but because they were a family. I could only ever dream of having that many siblings.

"Clove, I think you were born on October first, 1989," Allison explained, "Just like the rest of us, you were born with incredible powers. You're one of us."

I sat up and frowned, "Obviously not."

"Wha- Clove, I-"

"Save it," I stood, "Until a few minutes ago, you didn't want me around. You figure out I have powers and suddenly that changes? I'm sorry, I'm not buying it."

Sluggishly, I began to walk towards the front door. Diego and Allison were hot on my heels. Diego grabbed Allison's arm to stop her as I made it to the front door, "Where are you going?"

"To find my real family," I muttered.

I slammed the door behind me and began to limp my way down the streets. Lucky for me, a cab responded to my wave and allowed me to get inside. I gave them the address and collapsed in the back seat.

When we made it to Meritech, I dove out and glanced around. Everything seemed normal, except for the plumber van parked precariously across the street. It was in the perfect position for a stakeout, and I knew exactly who was in that van.

Limping across the street, I walked straight up to the van and flung the doors open, "You'll never guess what just happened to me."


	13. I Came, I Saw, I Left

I groaned, rolling over on my side and feeling sharp pains shoot up and down my entire body. My head was throbbing and it was clear that Diego's protein shake had long since worn off. I felt like I had just fallen asleep on cement, the floor of the van was pretty close to that. My entire body was stiff and cracked as I did my best to move it.

"You know, you do this a lot."

Lying on my back, I glanced up at Five. He was still sitting in the driver's seat of the van with his eyes glued to Meritech. Part of me wonders if he ever looked away, but the compress on my head told me he did. I stumbled as I got up on my knees and moved to brace myself between the two seats, "Do what?"

"Indulge in your recklessness and eventually pass out," Five glanced at me with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes, "You're one to talk."

"I'm not reckless, I know exactly what I'm doing at all times."

"That doesn't mean you're not reckless."

"No, I'm not reckless because I think before I act," Five pulled a cold sandwich wrapped in plastic from the dashboard, "Here, eat this."

"Where did you get this?" I unwrapped the sandwich and took a huge bite.

Five jerked his thumb to the left, "The convenience store, I got it while you were passed out."

"Did they have any energy drinks?"

"What?"

"I'm telling you," I said through a mouthful of sandwich, "I love the future."

Five rolled his eyes, "You're going to get yourself killed one day, Clove, you need to be more careful."

"I'm plenty careful," I responded, "This wasn't even my fault!"

"Really?" Five rolled his head on his neck to look at me in disbelief.

"Really," I smirked at him, "Hazel and Cha Cha found the Academy and shot it up."

Five opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, and shouted, "What? How?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. One minute, I'm listening to your siblings argue in the living room-"

"Unsurprising," Five interrupted.

"- and the next Hazel and Cha Cha shop up and start raining bullets on all of us."

"Everyone?" Five's eyes widened, "My family, are they-"

He stopped, unable to bring himself to say what he feared. I gave him a gentle smile, "They're alright. A little shaken, maybe a few cuts and bruises, but they're alright."

"Thank God," Five breathed, "Hazel and Cha Cha- they came for us?"

I nodded, swallowing my bite roughly, "Yeah and Luther is really pissed about it. He and Diego both were determined to unlock our entire tragic backstory."

"Did you tell them?"

"No," I smiled, "It's not my story to tell."

Five glanced off at Meritech and smiled before quickly hiding it. I knew how long he had been dreaming of seeing his family again. He might say he would stop the apocalypse all on his own, with my help of course, but I knew he secretly dreamed for his family to help. All he ever wanted was for the Umbrella Academy to come back together and stop the apocalypse once and for all. That is what kept him going all through the apocalypse and our time with the Commission.

"I'll tell them, eventually," Five sighed, "Not that they'll believe me."

"I dunno, I think they've all seen weirder," I swallowed the last bite of sandwich, "Did you know Luther was half ape?"

Five jerked his head to look at me, "What? Impossible."

"Possible and true, that's why he wears so many layers."

Five blinked rapidly, unsure of what to say next. It seemed like there was nothing to say next. How do you respond to learning your brother is half ape when the last time you saw him he was fully human?

"Did they say anything about Hazel and Cha Cha?" Five handed me a bottle of water.

I took it and gratefully took a sip, "A little bit. Surprisingly, they seemed more interested in my birthday."

"That isn't surprising."

"Really?" I handed the bottle back to him, "Two assassins shoot up your home looking for your recently returned brother and his weird friend, and, out of all that, you latch onto the weird friend's birthday? I don't even know my birthday!"

Five took a sip of his water and frowned, "Our Father never told us whether we were the only super powered kids or not, we just kind of assumed we were. He never told us the full truth about anything, I wouldn't be surprised if you were one of us."

"C'mon, Five, now you're talking crazy."

"Am I?" Five glanced at me, "You showed up on the doorstep of a convent as a newborn just nine days after we were all born and you have abilities just like us. I always suspected you were born at the same time as us."

For a moment, I just stared at him in disbelief. All my life, I had wanted so desperately to be a part of something greater than myself. Turns out I actually might be. It had always been nothing more than a dream to me, I couldn't believe the idea that it might be real.

"Impossible," I shook my head, "I'm just some orphan."

Five grinned at me, "You and I both know you're more than that, Clove."

"Aw, Fivey, you do have a heart."

"Shut up."

"Not until you admit you loo-oooo-oove me."

I leaned my head on his shoulder and blinked up at him innocently. He shoved me off, doing his best to stifle his laughter, "You're nothing but a nuisance."

"And yet, fifty years later, here we are," I smiled.

Five rolled his eyes and laughed. A few kids ran in front of the van, chasing a ball across the street. Five followed them with his eyes and drew his attention back to Meritech. I followed his gaze and tilted my head, "Any sign of our eyeless guy?"

"Apparently, he doesn't exist," Five sighed, "I confronted the doctor and made him check the serial number, this one hasn't been made yet."

He held up the eye and sighed. I frowned, "Maybe the person it belongs to just hasn't lost their eye yet?"

"It would have to be," Five clutched the eye in his fist, "Whoever this eye belongs too, they have something to do with the apocalypse and I won't give up until I figure out who it is."

"And staking out Meritech for days on end is going to help that?"

"There's something I'm missing- I can feel it."

"Well, in that case, we've got a problem," I jumped in the front seat beside my friend, "You've got to find the person this eye belongs too, but we've got the best assassins in the Commission on our tails. Now that they found out you're staying at the Academy, they won't hesitate in going through your family to get to you."

Five glanced at the eye and cursed, "Shit! I can't abandon the search for the eye's owner."

"Good thing there's two of us," I winked.

Five looked up at me, "You almost died going after them the first time."

"Actually, I almost died twice."

"That doesn't help your case."

"Look, Five, what choice do we have?" I leaned forward, "You've been holding onto that eye for fifty years, I know you won't be comfortable letting me stalk out Meritech while you hunt down Hazel and Cha Cha."

The way he glanced at Meritech told me I was right. That eye was the only hope he had for most of his life, no matter how much he trusted me, I knew he wouldn't give up the search that easily. Not even to hunt down a couple of assassins out to kill us.

"You're right," he sighed, "I can't let it go."

I leaned back and smiled, "That's why I'll go after Hazel and Cha Cha. If we get in trouble, we're two super powered adults in prepubescent bodies, I think we can handle it."

Five smiled and nodded, "Good luck, Clove."

"You too, Five."

I gave him a quick hug over the center console before jumping out of the van. Giving him one last wave, I hurried down the street until the van was out of sight.

It wasn't preferable for us to have to constantly separate. After being together and working as a team for so long, it felt unnatural for us to separate, but we had no choice. Hazel and Cha Cha were our biggest threats. If anything could stop us from stopping the apocalypse, it was them. They had to be stopped, but, at the same time, we only had six days left until the end of the world. The only way we could possibly get it all done was if we separated.

I decided my best bet was to check the Academy. With any luck, Hazel and Cha Cha had left some sort of clue as to where they might be staying. There were a million stingy pay by the hour motels in this gigantic city, it would take until the end of the world to check them all. My best bet was to look for clues.

Just by looking at the Academy, you wouldn't know there was a fight there the night before. Besides a few bullet holes in the walls and smashed vases, the place looked exactly the same as it always did. Neat, empty, and old. The only difference was a thin layer of dust gathering on every surface.

"Odd," I swished my hand over the end table, "There's never been dust in here before."

The house was seemingly empty. I didn't bother looking for anyone because it wasn't them I was there to see. I was looking for clues, clues which I knew they wouldn't have. Part of me hoped the house would be completely empty so I could commence my search uninterrupted, but, naturally, that wasn't the case.

"Clove!"

I hung my head and sighed, "Luther."

It seems like every time I met Luther, he was upset about me being in 'his house'. At that point I went into every interaction with him expecting for him to tell me to leave. His footsteps were loud and heavy, thudding on the floor like someone was repeatedly dropping a bag of flour.

"I was hoping you'd be here," Luther stopped just behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder to see him and Diego both glaring at me, "That's a first."

"We need to find Five."

"Oh, how lovely, good luck with that."

"It's important, Clove," Diego's voice was always low and steady, like a drawl without an accent.

I shrugged, "And you have issues with priorities."

"Look, we don't have time for this," Luther released an exasperated sigh, "Tell us where Five is."

I crouched next to the couch and began to look through the cushions, "How should I know? I'm not his babysitter."

"No, but you're the only one he talks to."

"Maybe if you lot weren't so pig headed, he'd talk to you too."

All I heard was the sound of metal on metal and, the next thing I knew, one of Diego's knives was implanted in the couch above my head. I knew he wasn't trying to hit me, if he wanted to hit me there's no way he would've missed. He was trying to intimidate me and it wasn't working. I had spent long enough in training to be impervious to all intimidation.

"Ouch," I responded nonchalantly, "That hurt my feelings more than anything."

Diego placed his hands on his knees and glared at me, "Tell us where Five is."

"Why do you need him?" I stood and walked into the hall.

"As if you don't know," Luther scoffed as he and Diego followed me, "We need answers of who attacked us last night and why."

I glanced inside of the vase in the center table, "I could tell you that, you know."

"But you won't," Diego crossed his arms, "We've seen that."

"True, but I could at least tell you their names."

"It's about more than just answers," Diego suddenly met my eyes and became ever so slightly softer, "Those lunatics came after you and Five. He is in danger, and we have to find him. We want to protect him."

I gazed at Diego for a moment. While Luther still looked exasperated, Diego seemed genuine. His eyes were glazed over slightly but I could still see them wobble. He was fidgeting with one of his knives in his spare hand.

"We need your help, Clove," Diego's voice became even lower.

There was a sense of urgency about them. Even Luther seemed anxious to find his brother, whether that be for Five's sake or his, I didn't know. The urgency came with a desperation to protect. I stared at him for another half second before sighing, "Alright, but, if he kills me, it's on your heart."


	14. Me But More Shits To Give

"You're sure he's there?" Luther glanced down at me as we sped down the street, "Why would he be at a prosthetic company?"

"Maybe to find an arm for his mannequin girlfriend," Diego muttered.

"Hey, watch it," I wiggled an accusing finger at Diego, "Dolores is my friend too."

Diego and Luther met eyes. Diego shrugged while Luther shook his head. They didn't have to say anything and I knew they thought Five and I were weird. I crossed my arms and huffed, glaring at them as I did.

People cope with trauma in different ways, and Five and I had faced plenty of trauma. As if the end of the world wasn't enough, we might be doing it all over again, the thought of which terrified me. The best way Five could figure out how to cope with trauma was projecting onto Dolores and seeing her as a living, breathing, talking human. It wasn't weird, it was a coping mechanism, and I had half a mind to let Luther and Diego know it. Instead, I kept my mouth shut. Luther and Diego poking fun at Five and Dolores shouldn't bother me as much as it did, but it did.

I made sure to stay several steps ahead of them. They might be fast but I was young, I effortlessly sped ahead of them. Every so often, Diego would call for me to slow down but I ignored them.

Five's van was exactly where I had left it. I waited on the corner for Diego and Luther to catch up. When they finally did, Luther huffed, out of breath, "How are you so fast?"

I shrugged and turned to face the van. Diego followed my gaze, "Five's in there?"

"That's where I left him."

"What's he doing here?" Luther asked.

Diego's eyes widened, "He's trying to stop the apocalypse."

"I'm sorry," Luther held up his hands, "The what?"

"What does a prosthetic company have to do with the end of the world?" Diego ignored his brother and spoke directly to me.

"I'm sorry- the what?!"

"I don't know," I plastered an obviously fake grin on my face, "Why don't you ask him?"

Diego and Luther hurried to follow me to the van. As I got closer, I tried to find Five through the windshield, but he wasn't there. The van was seemingly empty from the outside looking in, something which worried me. Five could easily handle himself, but part of me was worried Hazel and Cha cha found him before I could find them. That was the last thing we needed.

The doors were locked, but Diego easily picked it. As the two brothers fought to try and get in the front seat, I rolled my eyes and opened the side door. I was met with an empty van.

It wasn't entirely empty, it was just empty of the boy I had come looking for. Even Dolores was gone, something which gave me a bit of relief. If Five had enough time to grab Dolores, he wasn't captured or dead.

His items were still littered around the van. Several empty cups of coffee, my sandwich wrapper from earlier, and his green duffel bag were scattered all around. Diego had crept into the van behind me, "I thought you said Five was here."

"He was," I began to sift through the bag, "He wasn't attacked, if he was he would've left Dolores. Wherever he went, he went on purpose."

As Luther searched for clues in the front seat, Diego picked up a book that had fallen out of Five's bag. I sat against the chairs and tugged at the tassels of my hat.

"Could he have gone back to the Academy?" Luther asked.

I shook my head, "No, I told him about the attacks. He wouldn't go back or risk being found by the assassins."

"Where else would he go?"

"I think I have an idea," Diego held up his book.

Five had been carrying the same copy of Vanya's book since the first week he landed in the apocalypse. It had become as sentimental to him as Dolores. On the front page, the address of the library was printed under "property of". I gazed at the name with a soft smile, "He went home."

"Home?" Luther scoffed, "It's a library."

"And it was one of the last buildings left standing in the future," I jumped out of the van and turned to my companions, "Are you coming?"

Diego and Luther exchanged glances before hurrying after me. We shut the doors of Five's van and, once again, we were hurrying down the street. Luther and Diego struggled to keep up with me as I power walked to my friend.

The Argyle Public Library was a much different place when it was still fully intact. It surprised me to see lights on and people mulling about inside despite having been in civilization for a fair bit of time. The center cylinder was fully intact and stretched up several floors. It was in the remains of that cylinder that Five and I found a home.

As I stood there, in the middle of the cylinder and looking up, it suddenly became much colder. I shivered slightly and tore my gaze from the ceiling. When I looked down, all I saw was a ruined wasteland.

"No," I whispered as my blood began to pump even faster.

Ash fell around me though I couldn't feel it. I looked at my hands to see they had become gray and ashy again just as they had been for my time in the apocalypse. I could even smell the sulfur and hear the cracks of burning buildings. The impenetrable silence was back and I coughed loudly.

"No," tears started pouring down my eyes as I clenched my shaking hands, "No, please."

I held the sides of my face with my hands and trembled. Something warm grabbed my shoulders and gently shook, "Clove, come on, Clove!"

One hard shake and I was jerked back to reality. I glanced up to see Diego holding my shoulders and looking at me worriedly. Luther was behind him with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. There was no ash falling from the sky, no clouds forever covering the sun, and the building was still intact. The world was warm and so was I; it had only been a flashback.

"You alright?" Diego spoke in his low voice.

"Fine," I wiped my eyes, "Fine. Let's just- let's find Five."

All I wanted right then was to see Five. After that, I could really go for a hug and I knew he would be the one to give it to me. I pushed Diego's hands off my shoulders and tugged my hat further onto my head.

"We should split up," Luther glanced between us, "We'll cover more ground that way."

Diego rolled his eyes, "A great idea, Number One."

"Don't call me that."

Diego and Luther glared at each other, completely unblinking. Rolling my eyes, I pushed past them and went straight for the nearby elevator. They were still glaring at each other when the doors shut.

While Diego and Luther started at the bottom, I decided to start at the top. The elevator dinged and the door slid open. A few patrons walked in and I had to push past them, smiling as I did and muttering, "Excuse me."

When I stepped out into the hall, the first thing I noticed were the drawings on the green walls. The marker used to write them was clearly running out of ink but the person drawing kept forcing more out. Each was an equation I never understood but I had memorized nonetheless. I recognized the handwriting instantly, "Five."

The equations written on the walls of the library in the present were the same equations Five wrote on the same walls in the future. They even seemed to be in relatively the same locations. They were scrawled every which way to the point where it was illegible to anyone but perfectly legible to Five.

I followed the equations as the marker got lighter and lighter. By the time it fully ran out of ink, I was standing at the end of the hall in front of the entrance to the children's section. There, passed out by the wall with Dolores in one arm and a bottle in another, was Five.

Five was almost completely passed out. When I crouched in front of him, he barely noticed, only recognizing me when I shook his foot and said, "Five."

"Clove!" he giggled, "I missed you."

"I missed you too. What're you doing?"

Five weakly raised his bottle to the equations on the walls, "Coming up with what to do next."

"What do you mean."

He dropped his arm holding the bottle. It would have smashed if it didn't land on his thigh and slid into his lap. Dolores shifted slightly, but he tightened his grip on her and hiccupped.

"It's gone," he mumbled, "Our only lead. Gone."

I tilted my head, "The eye?"

"Meritech. Poof, gone."

"I was just there an hour ago," I muttered, "It was fine then."

He snorted, "It's not fine now! Burned to a crisp. A pile of ash just like we'll all be in a few days."

"Five, don't talk like that," I slid to sit next to him with my hands folded in my lap, "We still have five days."

Technically, we only had four left. Five shifted slightly so his head fell onto my shoulder and Dolores fell over both our laps. He looked up at me but he never once saw me. When he was drunk, his eyes went in all directions, they could never focus on one thing in particular. The darkness in them was real, however.

"I'm sorry, Clove," his words all slurred together, "I'm a failure, I failed you- I failed everyone- and I'm sorry."

I did my best to give him a reassuring smile, "You're not a failure, Five, you're drunk."

"And a failure."

"You always say that when you're drunk."

It was true, when he had just a little too much to drink, his insecurities came out. Any normal day he'd walk around like he was better than everybody, but, when he was drunk, he couldn't stop talking about how he was a failure. Whether that was failing his family when he time traveled the first time, or failing the whole world trying to stop the apocalypse.

"The world is going to end, and I have no idea how to stop it," he moved so his forehead was on my shoulder and his face was towards the ground.

"We'll figure it out, we always do," I turned my gaze to the hall and smiled, "I think, this time, we'll have a little help."

Luther and Diego had found us and were hurrying around the circular halls towards us. I smiled at them as they approached. As soon as Diego laid eyes on Five, he stopped, "He's drunk."

"Absolutely plastered," I sighed, "Welcome to my world."

"He does this often?"

"Whenever he can get a hold of liquor."

"He's a kid."

"Technically he's fifty-eight," Luther earned a glare from Diego.

Diego rolled his eyes and crouched in front of us, "We need to get him out of here."

"How? It's not like he can just walk out of here."

Diego and I both turned to stare at Luther. He glanced behind him as if we could be looking at anyone else. When he turned back, he groaned, "I'm going to have to carry him, aren't I?"

"You are the one with super strength," Diego slowly stood.

I giggled as Luther crouched to pick up Five. I expected to carry Dolores, but Five had a death grip on her. Even as he was drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, he kept a tight grip on Dolores.

A few librarians stared at us as we carried the drunk kid and the mannequin he was overly attached to out of the library. Luther smiled at them and muttered excuses as Diego stared straight ahead, doing anything but making us seem innocent. I kept smiling and waving as if nothing was wrong.

"We should stick to back alleys," Diego surveyed the entire street, "Just in case they followed us."

Luther shifted Five in his arms, "We can't go back to the academy. Not while they're still after us."

Nobody had to ask to know exactly who he was talking about. Hazel and Cha Cha were still out there. Assassins almost never went to the same place twice when looking for their target, because their target would never go to the same place twice. Then again, that was for a normal case and this was anything but normal. If Hazel and Cha Cha hadn't realized that yet, they would soon.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Luther," I noticed Five shivering and gave him my hat, "Hazel and Cha Cha will be after us, we need to go somewhere they wouldn't look."

Diego hesitated before sighing, "The gym isn't too far away, we can hide out there until he wakes up."

"Hang on," Luther shook his head as we walked through an alley, "Hazel and Cha Cha?"

I shrugged as Five giggled, "Best assassins in the Commission. Besides us, of course."

"Besides us," I smiled, "We were."

"I'm sorry- you were what?"

"You know what's funny?" Five interrupted, "I'm going through puberty. Twice."

I stuffed my hands in my pockets, "It's not that funny if you ask me."

"You need to sober up, old man," Diego guided us through the alleys, "We need to know why those assassins are after you and Clove."

"That, Diego, is a very long story," Five hesitated when he began to gag.

Luther frowned, "If you throw up on me-"

"Relax," Five giggled, "Enjoy life while you have it."

I scurried around to Luther's opposite side where Five's head was lulling backwards, "Five, maybe this isn't the best time to break the news."

"Why not?"

"You're drunk as a skunk!"

"Better now than never," Five giggled, "Rip off the Band-Aid!"

"You better start talking, Five, before I make you," Diego spun around to get into Five's face.

Five sprouted one of his cocky smiles, "The world is ending in five days and I have no idea how to stop it!"

For a moment, Luther and Diego just stared at their brother. Diego glanced down and sighed. He already knew the world was ending, or he had vague hints of it. Neither of us forgot our conversation in the car and how I had basically told him the world was coming to an end. I watched anxiously, twiddling my fingers together as I did. After a few minutes of anxious waiting, both brothers turned to me.

"What is he saying?" Luther demanded.

"In five days!" Five exclaimed, "Everything will be gone, poof!"

Luther and Diego glanced at Five before turning back to me. I twisted the sleeves of my sweater and smiled sheepishly, "He's right."

"What?!" Luther exclaimed.

"When we time traveled to the future," I took a deep breath, "What we found was an apocalyptic wasteland. We spent forty-five years there trying to get back, Five spent forty-five years trying to get back to save all of you."

Luther stared at Five as Diego stared at me, "Is that why the assassins are after you?"

"More or less," I sighed.

Five spun over Luther's shoulder and hurled, making all of us cringe. I covered my mouth to keep from gagging as Diego sighed, "Let's get him to the gym, we'll talk more when he wakes up."

We went the rest of the way in total silence. The gym was exactly as it was the last time I was there. The same putrid scent and lingering life despite being closed for a few hours. Diego led us straight to the boiler room where Luther laid Five down on Diego's bed.

I didn't hesitate in crawling onto the bed to sit next to Five. As he curled against the edge, I sat at his back with my knees pulled to my chest. Diego glanced down at Five, "Funny, he's almost adorable when he's sleeping."

"Don't let him hear you say that," I muttered.

"Just wait," Luther fell to sit in the nearby chair, "He'll be back to his asshole self when he wakes up."

I glared at him, "I know a hundred ways to kill a man, did you know that?"

Luther went even paler than he usually was. All of us were interrupted with a knock at the door. Instantly, we were on alert. I jumped to my knees and spread my hands, ready to make a shield at a moment's notice. Diego drew a knife as Luther curled his fists.

I knew they had the same worries as me; what if Hazel and Cha Cha already found us? Diego put a finger to his lips as he began to stalk to the door. Luther and I held our breath as Diego swung open the door.

"I swear, if you throw another knife at me, I'm pressing charges!"

Diego instantly relaxed, "What do you want?"

The owner of the gym walked in as Diego returned down the stairs. He was a crotchety old fellow without any nice words to say. I hadn't met him before that moment, but every negative thought he had was so clearly written across his wrinkled face. From the way his face naturally settled into a scowl to the darting eyes and wrinkled nose.

"Some girl called for you," the man explained, "Detective Batch?"

Diego paused and slowly turned to the owner, "Patch?"

"Whatever."

"Ooh, your lady love," I teasingly winked at Diego.

He pointed his knife at me in a mock threat as Luther glanced between us confusingly. The owner handed Diego a piece of paper, "She wants you to meet her at this address, said she found your brother."

The man left as Luther and Diego exchanged glances. We all looked at Five as Diego muttered, "That's weird."

As if scripted, the two brothers looked at each other and whispered, "Klaus."

Diego was out the door before Luther could say, "You go, I'll stay with the kids!"

When Diego was gone, Luther exhaled deeply and fell to sit in his chair. I returned to my position next to Five and glared at him, "We aren't kids."

"Yeah, whatever."


	15. Why Am I Like This?

Diego still wasn't back by the time Five started waking up. His groans echoed through the silent boiler room as he rolled his face into the pillow. Pushing himself up on his arms, he rubbed his head and moaned, "Shit."

"Morning, sleepy head," I smiled down at him.

He glanced up at me and blinked away the grogginess, "Clove? Where are we?"

"Diego's place," Luther held out a bottle of water to his brother, "We found you- drunk- in the library."

Five gratefully took the bottle and chugged its' entire contents. He sluggishly brought himself to a sitting position and began to rub his head. I made the entire bed shake as I jumped to sit next to him. I tucked my knees under me and placed a hand on his back as if reassuring myself that he was there.

"How are you feeling?" I whispered.

Five rubbed his eyes, "Like shit."

"Get better, fast," Luther demanded, "You've got some explaining to do."

"What did I do?" Five completely ignored his brother and turned to me.

I gave him a sympathetic smile, "Told them everything."

"Not quite," Luther responded, "You said the world is going to end."

Five glanced back at me before sighing deeply. I scooted slightly closer as he ran a hand through his hair, "I did, and I wasn't lying."

Luther hesitated. Nobody wants to hear the world is going to end in their lifetime. Some people spend their entire lives paranoid that it will, others spend it in doubt that it ever will. Ancient civilizations from the dawn of time told stories of the end of the world, but none ever wished it to happen in their lifetime. Luther was just like anyone hearing the world will end; dumbfounded, shocked, and terrified.

"When's it supposed to happen?" Luther muttered, "The end of the world?"

"I don't know the exact hour, but from what I can gather we have four days," Five explained.

I frowned, "Four days exactly, it's going to happen at night."

I never forgot that day I stole a briefcase that accidentally time traveled me to the exact moment the world ends. The sun had long since left that side of the world and it would be several years until it fully came back. I still remember that day, with the fire and debris raining from the sky. I cringed slightly despite trying to hide the fact that I could hear the screams even then. Five glanced back at me worriedly as Luther continued.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? We could have helped you, we could have gotten the entire Academy together again to stop it," Luther ranted.

Five dropped his eyes to the ground and ran his hands through his hair. I knew it was a sensitive topic for him, he had only ever told me once and he had to be drunk to do it. Rubbing his back, I glanced at Luther, "You already tried, and you died because of it."

"What?" Luther barely managed to form words, "All of us?"

"All of you."

"Together?"

"Died within feet of each other."

Luther blinked rapidly. Five rubbed his face and turned back to his brother, "You all came together to try and stop whoever caused the end of the world."

"How do you know that?" Luther asked.

Five hesitated before digging in his pocket. Once again, he pulled out the same velvet bag he had somehow managed to keep in perfect condition throughout everything. Dropping the eye into his hand, he held it out for Luther to take, "This was in your dead hand when I found you."

Luther slowly took the eye from Five and examined it. He flipped it over and over again in his hands until he spotted the obvious, "There's a serial number on the back, maybe you could-"

"Dead end," Five interrupted.

I sighed, "And the lab burned down."

"That's why you were in the van outside of Meritech," Luther muttered, "You were trying to find the owner of the eye."

Five nodded, "From what I can gather, the eye hasn't even been manufactured yet."

"Where did I get this?" Luther hesitated, "Before I- you know-"

"Died?" I asked.

"Yes, Clove, thank you."

Luther rolled his eyes at me as Five shrugged, "Like I said, I don't know. You must have ripped it out of the person's eye just before you went down."

"Who?"

"What part of 'I don't know' don't you understand?"

"It's alright, Five," I whispered, "It's a lot to process."

Five ran a hand through his hair once again. As he most often did when he was in a high emotional state, he completely shut down. All emotions seemed to flee, leaving him with only logic and facts. That is exactly what he told Luther, and that is exactly what Luther wasn't satisfied with.

"Piece of shit."

The door slammed open and Diego's grumbling voice rang in all our ears. He thudded down the stairs like a hurricane and came barreling straight towards Five and me, "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Just as Luther jumped up to grab Diego, I sprung up on my knees and flung out my hands. A shield formed between Diego and Five and me. Slowly, without reacting at all, Five gently grabbed my wrists and pulled down my hands. He shook his head as the shield went down. I fell back to sit next to him, my eyes never once leaving the furious Diego.

"Get your ape hands off of me!" Diego shouted.

Luther simply sighed, being completely unhindered by his struggling brother, "I could do this all day."

Diego quickly calmed down, almost too quickly. He was struggling and moving one moment and then, just like a switch, he went completely still. Luther set him down, "Now, want to tell us what this is all about?"

"Our brother and his little friend," his words were dripping with poison, "Were there. They were there at Griddy's and Gimbel Brothers' and the mask guys that attacked the Academy were after them!"

"That isn't your concern," Five's voice was completely monotone.

Diego's stare was enough to make anyone stand down, "It is now. They just killed my friend."

"Oh no," my hands flew to my face as I gasped, "Patch?"

"I found her, shot to death, at a shitty little motel just within city limits."

Five shook his head, "Always at the motels."

"Diego," I whispered, "I'm so sorry, I know she was important to you."

Diego glared at me, purposefully avoiding eye contact, "I don't need your sympathies, I need answers."

"Who are they?" Luther spun around to face Five.

Five hesitated as I answered, "They work for our former employer."

"She's called The Handler," Five explained, "She sent them after us, to take us down. Their mission is their top priority, and anything that gets in their way, like Diego's friend, is fair game."

Diego clenched his fists and leaned forward ever so slightly, "And now they're my fair game."

"Diego, they're trained assassins!" I shouted as he stormed towards the door, "They will kill you!"

"I'd like to see them try."

He slammed the door behind him, leaving us more rattled by his word than the loud slam. I wanted to go after him, to stop him, but Five placed a hand on my arm to stop me, "We don't have time."

"He'll get himself killed."

"He won't have the chance," Five folded his hands in his lap, "They're after us, not him."

Luther abruptly turned to us and pointed demandingly, "Former employer? What is this really about? And don't give me any 'this is none of your business' crap."

"It's fifty years worth of a story," I muttered.

Luther sat down, "I've got time."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence in the room. The story was so long, it was difficult to know where to start. While it was our story, this was Five's brother, and it was his to tell. I sat next to him with my hand on his shoulder for reassurance as he took a deep breath.

"The Handler found us in the apocalypse. She gave us a deal; if we signed a contract for five years of service with her company, she would get us out of the apocalypse we had been stuck in for forty-five years. After five years, we could retire to the time and place of our choosing, but until then we had to do anything they told us," Five paused to take a breath, "We had been there for so long, it seemed like a wish granted. We had to take the offer."

Neither Five nor I were willing to voice what we were both thinking; sometimes we wished we didn't. It was during our time in the Commission when Five finally figured out the math, but he would have in the apocalypse and we wouldn't have had to kill anyone. I regretted every single kill I ever made, and I knew I could never take that back. After a moment's pause, Five continued, "They were called The Commission, tasked with protecting the time continuum through management and removals. They made us into the perfect instruments for rehabilitation of the time continuum, or corrections- as they called them."

"There were hundreds of us scattered across time and space," Five continued, "Beings out of time and without a home. There were hundreds, but we were the best. We spent our time going from mission to mission, doing our job exactly as we should. What they didn't know was that we were bidding our time."

"For what?"

"The equations," Five exhaled deeply, "The same ones I had been working on for years."

Luther gaped, "The ones you wrote on the library walls."

"Exactly," Five sighed, "I was working on them constantly as we went from job to job. One day, when we arrived in 1963 to kill President Kennedy-"

"You killed the President?" Luther interrupted.

"Almost killed the president," Five corrected, "We left before we could. As we sat on the grassy knoll, I figured out the equations and was finally able to open a portal. We broke our contract by jumping through time and landing here, in 2019, to stop the apocalypse."

"Klaus nearly took my head off with that fire extinguisher," I grumbled, remembering back to the day we jumped through the portal.

It felt like a million years ago while just yesterday. When you jumped through time without a problem, it became more relative and less linear. It was difficult to tell time now that we were firmly rooted in the present.

Luther hesitated, "You were hitmen?"

"Excuse me," I scoffed.

"Sorry- hitpeople?"

"Thank you."

"Yes," Five answered, "More or less."

Luther shifted in his seat, "You had a code, right? You didn't kill innocents, only those who deserved it?"

"Corrections had no code," Five shook his head, "For that matter, neither did the entire Commission, except a dedication to preserving the timeline no matter what it took."

"You murdered people," Luther's voice suddenly took on a chill it didn't have before, "You murdered innocents."

Five scoffed, "Grow up, Luther. We aren't kids, there are no good guys or bad guys, there's only people. And all people will die in the apocalypse. We did what we had to do to get back here and stop the apocalypse- to save people."

"Murder is never the answer, Five."

"It was this time, Luther," Five spat, "It was the only way to get back here."

Five ran his hands through his hair one more time. He often did that when he got agitated, and I picked up on the signs. I leaned forward and met Luther's eyes, "We did what we had to do to get back here. The world is ending, Luther, and we have to stop it."

"How?" Luther demanded.

"I don't know," I breathed, "Our only leads are the eye and the fact that whatever happens, it comes from the sky. Maybe a bomb."

Luther hesitated and turned to me, "How do you know that?"

"I saw it."

"How? I thought you arrived after the apocalypse happened."

"Not me, I got there with dumb luck," I paused and took a deep breath, "I lived up in Quebec City, a street kid. An orphan. I was hungry, tired, and I needed money. I stole a briefcase, and it just so happens the person I stole it from was a corrections agent. He chased me, I tripped, and I accidentally hit the locks."

"I time traveled seventeen years into the future," I sighed, "Seventeen years exactly in four days. I arrived just moments before the apocalypse was triggered. The sky went dark as fire came raining down. The Earth shook, debris flew, and I was knocked unconscious before I could figure out what had hit. When I woke up, the world was a wasteland."

"How did you survive?" Luther asked.

I wiggled my fingers, "My shields stayed even when I had passed out. Once I woke up, I made my way here in hopes of finding The Umbrella Academy. That's when I met Five."

Luther paused for a moment, glancing down and taking everything in. This entire time, Five had been deep in thought, his eyes glued to the wall but never truly seeing anything. He suddenly stood up and said, "I think I have an idea."

"What?" I stood up next to him.

Luther stood up as well, but he was much too late. Five grabbed my wrist and teleported us just outside the gym. I could see the windows leading into Diego's boiler room at the top of the wall. When w e appeared, I doubled over and braced my hands on my knees, "I hate it when we do that."

"You'll get used to it," Five reappeared once again holding Dolores.

"It's been forty-six years, I don't think I ever will."

Five didn't even chuckle. He started hurrying off down the street and I was quick to follow. It astounded me how he managed to walk so fast with half a mannequin in his arms, yet still managed to seem completely at ease. I was struggling to keep up with him, taking short steps and holding my hat down with both hands.

"We need to get back to the academy," Five muttered, half his mind in another word, "I'm going to need a lot of room."

I dodged a lamppost, "More equations?"

"In a way, yes," Five responded as we turned a corner, "A probability map."

I jumped over a small dog as the woman walking them shook her fist at me, "There's seven billion people in the world, Five, how are you going to narrow it down?"

In the Commission, they used probability maps to figure out whose death would maintain the correct timeline. Five had been instantly drawn to these maps during orientation while I fell asleep. They would take the names and identities of every single person even remotely involved, even those only be association, and make a probability map of whose death would restore the timeline.

"I don't need the whole world," Five turned a sharp corner, "My entire family came together to stop the apocalypse, and they died here. That means the threat emerged from here. I only need the people in this city."

I wrinkled my nose, "That's still at least one million people."

"That's why I'm going to need a lot of space," Five grinned, "Lucky for me, my old bedroom was painted in chalkboard."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

Five laughed as the Academy came into view. Without hesitation, we hurried inside. The heavy doors shut behind us and we were left in what seemed like a whole different world.


	16. Being Selfish Feat. My Embarrassed Friends

As soon as we got to the Academy, Five rushed into his room, mumbling under his breath the entire time. He whispered facts, figures, statistics, and equations that made no sense to me but made an entire world of sense to him. After delicately sitting Dolores on a nearby chair, he dug a piece of chalk out of his desk drawers and began to write on his walls.

I leaned on the doorframe for a moment and watched. None of what he wrote made sense to me. Even after spending years watching him write the same equations over and over, I couldn't understand what he was doing. I didn't have beyond a fifth grade education, and what I did have was Catholic. I couldn't tell you much beyond basic multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.

It was always something that bothered me. Five could do math all day long and understand everything he wrote down, but I struggled doing basic multiplication. I know Five didn't think less of me, those that would didn't know, but I couldn't help thinking less than myself.

A groan caught my attention, causing me to turn my back to Five's room. Klaus was stumbling through the halls itching his entire body. I noticed a new tattoo on his shoulder and a green army vest they hadn't used in decades. The way he stumbled forward, his eyes squeezed almost completely shut, was like his head was suddenly taxidermied. I could sense the pressure in his sinuses and cranium, because I had felt it many times myself.

I left Five to his equations and followed the stumbling Klaus to his room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed when I arrived, one hand was pinching his nose while the other was scratching his head. The entire time, he was groaning.

"Klaus?" I tentatively stepped forward.

He groggily looked up, "Hm, oh, Clover! Hey."

"You alright?"

"Oh, peachy," he stood up and nearly fell back over.

"I don't think that's entirely accurate," I smiled softly at him, "C'mon, I know what'll clear that jetlag right up."

Klaus glanced up at me, "Jetlag?"

"I've felt it myself enough times to recognize when someone is going through time travel jet lag," I pushed off the doorframe and smiled, "Come on, let's get you fixed up."

Klaus groggily followed me to the kitchen, nearly stumbling into every wall we passed. I found myself glancing back at him often as if reassuring myself that he hadn't yet fallen over. Every time I did, he would shoot me a halfhearted smile and continue stumbling around once again.

When we made it to the kitchen, he practically fell into one of the dining chairs and began to rub his temples. As he sat groaning, I poured a glass of milk and pulled a banana off the holder. Setting them in front of him, I smiled, "Order up; Clove Thindrel's Cure To Time Travel Hangover."

Klaus smiled and slowly began to sip at the milk. I sat in the chair next to him, my legs curled underneath me, and patiently waited for him to finish. Only once he ate the entire banana and drank half the milk did he start to seem like himself again. His eyes opened all the way back up and he stopped itching all together. He barely winced at loud noises anymore and he was much sturdier on his feet.

"So, do you want to tell me about it?" I gently asked.

Time travel could be traumatizing for anyone who wasn't prepared. Five and I spent several months training at Commission headquarters before ever time traveling the first time, and it was still traumatizing for me. For someone like Klaus, who had never once prepared to time travel nor did he ever expect to need to, I can only imagine how truly terrible it was.

Klaus stirred the spoon in his milk, "What's there to tell?"

"Well, for starters," I leaned forward, "How did you get there?"

Klaus glanced up at me and sighed. He looked different than when I last saw him; older and more broken. I had just seen him yesterday but in the last twelve hours he had gone through hell and back and it was written all over his face.

"When those guys in masks broke into the Academy," Klaus sighed, "One of them snuck up on me and grabbed me. I woke up in a trunk and they took me into a motel room where they tortured me for hours for information on you and Five."

My hands flew to my face as I gasped, "Oh, Klaus."

"Oh, I'm fine," Klaus breezed right past the subject, "They tried their best, but they couldn't break me."

He hesitated before shaking himself and continuing right on with the story, "Some detective lady found me and broke me out. As she was facing off with the guys, I crawled into the vent and found their briefcase."

"And you took it?" I asked.

"I thought there was money in it, or maybe I could pawn it. At least then the whole thing would be worthwhile."

I folded my hands on the table, "Where did you go?"

"1968, Vietnam," Klaus paused, "I was drafted."

I did my best to offer him a comforting smile. I had been through a lot of things, from the end of the world to being forced to become a hitman, but I had never been to war. That was an entirely different thing, and the horrors he had witnessed were things I could never even imagine. I had been shot at before, faced bombs and bullets without hesitation, but that wasn't war.

"It wasn't all bad," Klaus smiled, "I met Dave."

I tilted my head, "Dave?"

"He is- was- the love of my life."

Klaus' eyes got this far off look in them as he boosted a wistful smile. His tremors came to a stop as his pupils became less dilated. I watched his shoulders relax with a small smile across my face.

All of that was interrupted when Diego came storming in. He went straight for the fridge and bent down to get a bottle of water as I spun around to face him, "Diego, when did you get here?"

"Doesn't matter," Diego stood and twirled off the lid of the bottle, "I'm leaving."

Klaus jumped up, "Oh, wonderful, I-"

"No."

"Aw, come on, Diego!"

"I said no."

"Wonderful," Klaus clapped his shoulder, "I'll get my things."

His things consisted of his coat he had resting on a nearby chair. Diego rolled his eyes as Klaus moved to the door. I stood, "Where are we going?"

"Not you too," Diego groaned as he made his way through the halls.

"Come on, please, I'm bored," I jumped slightly as I stepped.

"Why don't you go hang out with Five? I'm sure he can stand you."

"Only sometimes," I shrugged, "He's buried neck deep in equations and other mumbo jumbo. Come on, please, Diego, let me go."

Diego glanced at me as we stepped outside, "I have important business and I can't have you holding me back."

"What important business?"

"There's two assassins with a target on their back out there somewhere," Diego popped open the driver's seat of his old car, "They killed my friend, and now I'm coming after them."

He slammed the door and started the car. The window was rolled down and I leaned on the edge, "You're hunting down Hazel and Cha Cha?"

"I don't give a shit who they are, only what they did."

"Oh, then I'm definitely coming," I opened the back door and grinned at him, "They're after me, you know. You won't find them without my help."

Klaus and I both jumped into his car uninvited. I fell into the back seat, stretching out and tugging my hat over my eyes, Klaus curled himself in the passenger seat and cuddled his bottle of vodka close to his chest. With his free hand, I could see him fiddling with the dog tags I didn't think were originally his.

The first few minutes of the ride were taken in total silence. It was an odd silence, not one that was necessarily good or bad, just depressing. The dark cloud Klaus carried with him hung over all of us. I'm sure Diego felt the same doom and gloom I did without any real idea of why, but fully knowing where it came from.

"You alright, Buddy?" Diego glanced at his brother.

Klaus had his eyes glued on the window. I don't think he saw past the glass, perhaps he didn't want to. Every so often, he'd take a swing of his drink before going back to cuddling it and fiddling with his dog tags.

"Someone call the press," Diego mused, "My brother Klaus, silent. I remember the last time this happened, you tried running down the stairs in Grace's heels and tripped and broke your jaw. How long was it sewn shut?"

"Eight weeks," Klaus weakly mumbled.

Diego sighed, "Eight glorious weeks of silence."

Even the teasing did nothing to lighten Klaus' mood. He continued to stare out the window like he was in a melancholy music video. His only movement came when he took a long chug of his drink.

"Klaus, c'mon, talk to me, man," Diego gently nudged his brother.

I sat up and leaned on the seat between them, "Let him be, Diego, he just needs time."

"Time for what?"

"He'll tell you when he's ready."

Klaus shot me a thankful smile before turning back to his favorite window. Diego glanced back at me with a wrinkled nose, "Why are you here again?"

"I was bored."

"You're a nuisance."

"Heard that a million times," I laid my head on the seat facing him, "I came to help you find Hazel and Cha Cha."

Diego frowned, "Why?"

"Because I can see how much it means to you," I grinned, "You might think you're a hardass, but I can read you like an open book."

"Unlikely," Diego snorted, his eyes bouncing around and refusing to focus on one thing in particular.

I propped my head up on my head and smirked, "Believe whatever you want to believe, my friend, but you are a very open book."

"We're not friends," was the only defensive act Diego could come up with.

I placed a hand on my heart and feigned pain, "Ouch. You wound me, Diego, truly."

I fell back onto the seat and propped my feet up on the window. Diego repositioned the mirror so he could see my face and I could see his, "How is it that Five grew up to be such an asshole and you grew up to be so annoying?"

"Just lucky, I guess," I entertained myself by making tiny force fields around my finger tips, "He got all the grumpy old man, I got the sense of humor."

"Barely."

"Twice, Diego, you wounded me twice!"

"Very funny," Diego's eye got the glint of my fore field in the mirror, "How do you do that?"

I sighed, "It's simple energy. I pull the energy from inside my body and change it into electric fields I can manipulate."

Only then did Klaus push himself up slightly and turn around, "Since when could you do that?"

"Where have you been, man?" Diego asked.

"Being tortured."

"What?"

"I already went over this," I rolled my eyes, "I've been able to do this forever, no I don't know when I was born, and no I'm not one of you."

Klaus leaned on the back of his chair and tilted his head, "Why not?"

"What?"

"You're the same age as Five, and he's the same age as all of us," Klaus shrugged, "Or at least he was, I guess. Maybe you are one of us."

Diego frowned, "Dad never did tell us if there were more."

"Dad never told us anything," Klaus slid back into his seat, "It was kind of his thing."

"If I was one of you, then why didn't your Dad come to buy me too?" I scoffed.

Everyone seemed very sure I was like the rest of the Academy, but I never once believed it. Perhaps it wasn't so much that I didn't believe it, but that I was protecting myself. I had spent so long trying to will myself into being like the Umbrella Academy, only getting there to find out I was too late. Forty-five years later, I had grown out of that childish fantasy and I promised myself I would never feel that disappointment again. The worst part wasn't that I could never be a member of a famous super kid team like they were, but I could never be a part of a family. That was the most devastating part of all.

"Maybe he was late," Klaus shrugged.

"Clove, you appeared ten days after we were all born," Diego met my eyes in the rearview mirror, "Don't you think that's a little weird?"

I abruptly sat up and glared at him, "Look, Diego, you don't think I wanted to be? I spent years of my life desperately wishing I was one of you. All I wanted was to find you all, to find the family I never had but wanted so desperately. It didn't happen, it won't happen, so just let it go."

I fell back to lying down and crossed my arms over my chest. Neither Diego or Klaus said another word on the topic, something which I was grateful for. Talking about it more was just setting myself up for heartbreak.

I would never have the family I longed for, but I was happy with what I had. Five, Dolores, and I made a perfect tiny family even if I could never hear what Dolores was saying. They were my family, they were the only family I ever had or ever will have, and I was happy with it.

The rest of the ride was taken in painful silence. Klaus' dark cloud still hung in the air, but now it was joined by lightning from my own anger in pain. Diego was in the middle of a storm and he didn't even know it. We drove like that to who knows where until Klaus suddenly slapped the window, "Drop me off here."

Diego glanced out the windshield and looked at his brother with a screwed up face. As he pulled into a parking spot, I sat up long enough to see the building in front of us. An old sign advertising the Veterans of Foreign Wars bar had long since lost the lights inside. It was nothing more than a few written words, but I'm sure that's all the vets inside cared about. They didn't care for flashing lights or pretty signs, they just wanted a place to be and that is exactly what they got.

Without a single word, Klaus stumbled out of the car and wobbled up to the door. Diego and I both watched him go. When he vanished inside, Diego put the car in reverse but it never went anywhere. I watched as he put the car back into park, sighed, and unbuckled.

"Are we going after him?" I leaned on the front seat and smiled.

Diego stepped out of the car, leaning down for a moment just to make eye contact with me, "I am, you're staying in the car."

He slammed the door behind him and began to follow Klaus inside. Not wanting to be left behind, I jumped out after them, falling into step with Diego as he approached the door. He glanced down at me and groaned, "I told you to stay in the car."

"And I told you I never listen," I said as Diego opened the door, "Technically I am twenty-eight years older than you, so I have seniority and it's you who should be listening to me."

"I'm not doing that."

The veterans bar was dimly lit with country music playing in the background. Diego and Klaus were the only people under fifty in the entire bar. The older vets all glared at us as we passed, their glares mostly focused on Klaus.

Klaus stood at a shadow board filled with Vietnam memorabilia. One corner was dedicated to the Sky Soldiers, the same soldiers with the same symbol as Klaus' newest tattoo he bore on his shoulder. Several medals, photographs, and patches hung in the shadow box, but one photograph in particular drew Klaus' attention. He gently brushed his fingertips against it, his eyes welling with tears.

The photograph was clear upon closer inspection. Several sky soldiers stood in an uneven line without a single one smiling. At the very end, towards the right, was Klaus in full army gear and a deep frown across his lips. Next to him stood a blonde man carrying more gear and sprouting the tiniest grin. Klaus' fingertips brushed against this man, and I instantly guessed this was Dave. 

Klaus jumped slightly when Diego placed his hand on his shoulder, "Leave me alone."

"Not until you tell me what's going on," Diego's voice was much softer than it was earlier.

I quickly learned that Diego was not as rough-and-tough as he seemed to be. He tried his best to be Batman, but I could tell he was much softer on the inside. In emotional moments such as this, the gruffness in his voice would slip away and be replaced with a comforting sort of soft tinge. Like he was gently coaxing you to bed after a very long and hard day.

"I'm fine," Klaus grumbled despite clearly being the opposite.

I stood to the side of them with my arms crossed. My eyes caught the approaching vet first, "Guys."

"Hey," the vet barked, "This bar is for veterans only."

Klaus giggled weakly and sadly, "Oh, but I am a vet."

"Very funny, boy, where did you serve?"

"Vietnam."

The vet growled deep in his throat, "Are you making fun of us, boy?"

He took an angry step forward, but Diego stepped between him and Klaus, "Whoa, whoa, easy there, buddy. My brother is just a little confused. He's good, you're good, I'll get him out of here and we'll all be good, alright?"

"Fine," the vet crossed his arms, "But I want an apology."

As Diego dealt with the vet, I stepped closer to Klaus, "Klaus, we have to leave."

"Fine, I'm sorry," Diego grumbled.

"I belong here," Klaus muttered, "I am a vet."

I raised myself onto the tips of my toes to get closer, "They don't know that. As far as they know, you're not old enough to go to Vietnam."

"No," the vet sent his glare past Diego, "I want to hear it from him."

The entire bar fell silent as the vet waited for his apology from Klaus. As the man in question slowly turned around, I scrambled to grab his arm and stop him, but he brushed me off. He took a single step forward and spread his hands, "Fine, I'm sorry that you are depriving some village- of their idiot!"

"That's it!" the vet threw a punch but it never made it to Klaus.

My force field stopped him. As his hand was stuck in a field made of electric energy, he turned to me, where I was standing with my hands spread at my hips and a grin across my face, "Big mistake."

"What is this?" the vet tore his hand from the shield just as I broke it, "Get out of here!"

He threw another punch, but Diego tackled him. Several more vets began to attack, but Diego and I both fended them off from Klaus. I threw up shield after shield, trapping vets and their fists in separate shields and flinging them across the room. Diego managed to fling two vets several feet away until the vets were on one side of the bar as we were on the other. I flung up a shield between us and the vets, "We should probably get out of here!"

"Klaus, come on," Diego grabbed Klaus' arm and began to drag his brother out, "Come on!"

Klaus' eyes were on the photo of Dave the entire way out. I was the last one left in the bar, holding the shield up. The vets were pounding against the other side and shouting, some stood back in shock.

"Sorry about that, guys," I let the shield down and began to sprint towards the door, "We'll get out of your hair."

The vets followed twenty steps behind me all the way to Diego's car. As soon as I jumped in, Diego peeled out. I had barely shut the door before we were speeding down the highway, all of us exhausted and out of breath.

"I don't know about you two," Klaus glanced at us as if nothing happened, "But I could really go for a donut."


	17. Some Good OId Fashioned Buffoonery

"You know, I don't think I've ever actually had a donut," I inspected the donut held on my palm.

It was a simple strawberry sprinkle. The donut itself tasted a lot like lard, as if they sprinkled some oil on a vat of lard and fried it until it somewhat resembles bread. Pink icing was slathered on the top with rainbow sprinkles covering every inch. In theory, it should be disgusting, just after one bite I could already feel it clogging my arteries but I wanted more. One bite and I was in love.

"Can't say you're missing out," Diego sipped his water, "They're a deep fried heart attack."

Klaus giggled, "On the contrary, dear brother, I happen to think they're divine!"

He held up his eclair like it was some sort of royal scepter. I copied him with my strawberry donut. We both laughed as we tapped the edges of our donuts as if they were fancy champagne glasses. Klaus took a huge bite and quickly swallowed it while I nibbled slowly on the edges of my donut.

Diego rolled his eyes and glanced out the window. As he did, Klaus dug in his pocket and brought out a tiny plastic bag. It looked like a sandwich bag but much too small for any sandwich I had ever seen. I watched as he poured two blue pills into his hand.

"Klaus," I instantly recognized the drugs, "That isn't going to fix things."

Klaus snorted, "Makes it a hell of a lot easier."

Before Klaus could pop the pills in his mouth, Diego turned around and noticed. He snatched the pills from Klaus' hands, holding them far away as Klaus seethed. I fell back in my seat as the air between the two brothers suddenly became thicker than gel.

"What are you doing, man?" Diego chucked the pills out the window, "Why do you put this stuff in your body?"

Klaus flipped his hand, "Eases the pain of existence."

"Look at me," Diego lifted his shirt and slapped his stomach, "Rock solid. My body is a temple, you don't see me putting that stuff in my body."

Klaus completely ignored his brother. H dug out more pills from his pocket and began to pour them in his hand until Diego tried to wrestle them away from him. I watched as Diego and Klaus practically wrestled in the front seat, shouting insults and throwing hands at each other the entire time.

"Actual children," I sighed before pushing myself between them and forcing them apart, "Hey! Enough of that, fighting isn't going to help either of you!"

"Stay out of this, Clove!" Diego shouted.

Klaus pushed his face away, "Yeah, we're not kids!"

"You're acting like them!"

I forced them apart and put myself between them as a barrier. Klaus pouted against his door as Diego held up the pills and grinned. He chucked the pills out his window and turned back to Klaus just as I fell back in my seat.

"What's wrong, man?" Diego's voice became soft once again, "Come on, talk to me."

Klaus crossed his arms, seemingly too stubborn to cave. One glance at Diego's puppy dog eyes and he sighed, "I lost someone."

"What?"

"I lost someone!" Klaus flung up his hands and fell into a slouch, "The only person I ever- I ever loved, and I lost them."

Diego simply stared at Klaus. I wanted to yell at him to comfort his brother, but I remained silent. After a few seconds of agonizing quiet, Diego sighed, "Well, you're luckier than most. At least when you lose someone, you can see them whenever you want."

Klaus fell deeper in his seat and pouted. As Diego looked away, I saw Klaus discreetly pop a pill in his mouth. I knew what it was like to go through hell and back, albeit we both went through very different hells, I knew what it was like to be traumatized and try to find some sort of coping mechanism. The unhealthiest ones always seemed to be the easiest, so I didn't stop him when I saw him pop the pill.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and had to do a double take. Spinning around, I moved to a kneel and practically pressed against the back windshield. There, in the light of day in the middle of the Griddy's Donuts parking lot, was Hazel. He was without his mask and I thought it was the first time I had ever actually seen his face when he wasn't actively trying to kill me. Just by looking at his face, you would never once guess he was one of the deadliest assassins on the planet. He looked quite like the sort of person you would feel comfortable approaching on the street when you were lost. Nobody would ever expect such a soft face and kind eyes to be capable of murder. Those were eyes that watched victims die, but never stopped flinching at the sounds of their cries.

He was hugging the waitress, Agnes, the same waitress who was there when the temp agents showed up for Five and me. Agnes cupped his cheeks and laughed, giving him one final hug before going into the shop. They waved like flustered schoolchildren, Hazel even began to skip towards his car.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered.

Diego snorted, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"That's three times now, Diego," I slapped the seat without ever taking my eyes off of Hazel, "Look who we've got here."

Diego glanced in the rearview mirror as Klaus turned around. I could hear his gasp as he practically fell into the backseat. His face appeared next to mine with chocolate smeared on the corners of his mouth, "I know that guy! He tortured me!"

"Hazel," I glanced over my shoulder at Diego, "Looks like they found us."

Diego put the car into gear, "Not quite."

He began to follow Hazel at a steady pace. It was just slow enough to keep Hazel from guessing we were following him, but just fast enough to keep him in our sights. There were never more than four cars between us but never less than two.

"Are we just going to follow him?" I leaned on the seat between Klaus and Diego once again.

Diego never once tore his eyes off the blue car that most definitely had weapons filling the trunk, "Until we spot an opening."

"An opening for what?"

"To take him out."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" I propped my head on my hand and gazed at Diego, "He's one of the deadliest assassins ever to walk the Earth, Diego."

"And we're three people with superpowers, I think we can manage."

"Hardly," I snorted, "We're a traumatized addict, a misguided hero complex, and an old lady in a little girl's body."

Klaus frowned, "I'm not an addict!"

"I don't have a hero complex," Diego spat, "And I'm not misguided, I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Really? Mind telling us what that is?"

Diego risked a glance at me from the corner of his eyes, "How has Five not killed you yet?"

"A lack of options, mostly," I shrugged, "You're going to get us killed, Diego."

"We're not the ones dying today."

I knew, for a fact, that Diego had never killed a single person in his life and I knew he never would. He might talk a big game, but he was much too soft to kill. Perhaps he would hide it behind the illusion of nobility or mercy, but I knew that was just a façade. He couldn't bring himself to do it, he wouldn't bring himself to do it, not even when faced with the killers of his dearest friend.

I would never admit it to his face, but I admired Diego for that. He was merciful and just, and he would never kill. Not even out of necessity, something which I all too quickly did and regretted until my dying day. Diego might have a hero complex, but it was rooted in justice and faith in humanity and morals.

His grief was blinding him, forcing him into a vendetta I didn't believe he truly had. He was driving us to our deaths, or, perhaps, worse. As we got closer to Hazel's car and the motel where he and Cha Cha were staying, I could see Klaus become visibly shaken. I knew I had to do something. My only option was intimidation, something which I was never good at. 

"Have you ever killed anyone, Diego?" I leaned over the seat to where I was face-to-face with him.

Diego shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, "N-no."

"I didn't think so," my voice became ice cold and slippery as I did my best to mimic Five's intimidation skills, "You can never take it back. Even with the ability of time travel, you couldn't take it back. Once you kill, there's no going back, those lives will forever hang over you and you desperately try to wash their blood from your hands. That blood never comes off, Diego, never."

Diego struggled to speak for a moment, I could tell I was hitting a nerve, hopefully the right one. I hated manipulating people, but I felt like this was necessary. I did things I regretted, terrible things I would have to take to my grave, but Diego hadn't. If there was still time to stop him, that's exactly what I was going to do.

"I've killed more people than I can count," my voice was completely deadpan, "The blood never comes off, Diego, no matter how much you scrub."

Diego didn't respond after that, but he didn't turn around either. My words fell on deaf ears and I knew it. His heart was set and his mind was clouded with his vendetta. I knew I couldn't stop him from going after Hazel and Cha Cha, but I could stop him from dealing the final blow. My entire life was filled with doing the wrong things, for once I think it was time to do the right thing. 

Hazel pulled into the parking lot of a motel and jumped out. We all sunk low in our seats as Diego pulled up behind an ice cream truck. I could still faintly hear the music despite the truck being abandoned.

Peering over the edge of the door, I watched Hazel climb up to the second floor and vanish into the room behind the stairs. The curtains moved, but no faces appeared. I could see the shadows of Hazel and Cha Cha moving in front of the dim light of the curtain.

"What's the plan?" Klaus whisper-shouted.

"The plan is for you two to stay here," Diego popped open the door and crouched outside, "While I put a tracker on their car."

I rolled down the window as Diego snuck across the parking lot, "How did you get a tracker?!"

"Shut up, Clove!"

He fell onto his stomach by Hazel's car and rolled underneath it. When he popped back out, he ran back to the car while remaining low. He practically dove back into his seat and gently shut the door behind him.

"Real stealthy," I wrinkled my nose.

Diego didn't even look at me, "You're the one who shouted across the parking lot."

"And you're the one who always acts like he's in a spy movie."

"Oh!" Klaus giggled, "Burn!"

"Will you both shut up?" Diego hissed, "The point of a stakeout is being quiet."

He held his finger to his lips and glared at both of us. I slumped back in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest and huffing. I was no stranger to stealth missions. More than once, during our time as assassins, Five and I would have to stake out our target. Five was always perfectly relaxed sitting in one place for hours, sometimes even days, at a time, but I couldn't stand it. Even after just a few seconds of sitting in the car, I was beginning to get jittery.

"We got movement," Diego's voice dropped an entire octave.

I threw myself against the door, making the entire car shake and earning a glare from Diego. We all watched as Hazel stepped out of the motel room with an ice bucket. He moved a lot like a robot, but he kept his eyes forward at all times.

What threw me off was the way his eyes never seemed to move. He was centered on a target, which was a huge no-no for assassins. We always had to be on alert, and that meant looking around constantly. Unless you already knew where your target was.

"Stay here," Diego lightly shut the door behind him, "I'm going in."

"Diego, no!" I jumped into the front seat but I was too late.

Diego was already at the staircase leading to the second floor of the motel. I didn't hesitate in flinging open the door, "Shit!"

"Oh, we're going now?" Klaus casually followed me as I hurried across the parking lot.

I did my best to stay out of sight despite the man just casually strolling next to me, "They already know we're here."

"How do you know that?"

"I was one of them- once, a long time ago, I know all the tricks," I ducked next to the wall covering the stairs, "Including faking getting the ice bucket when you're being stalked."

Klaus ducked next to me, "How do you know they know?"

"Body language. Assassins are trained to always look around- unless they already know where their target is."

Klaus and I both hurried up the stairs. Diego stood at the very top, his knife drawn and held gently next to his face. He was perfectly still but still keenly aware of everything happening around him. He barely even flinched when Klaus and I suddenly appeared next to him.

"I told you to stay in the car," Diego mumbled.

Klaus shrugged, "You also told me licking a nine volt battery would give me pubes."

"We were eight."

"Wha- it doesn't matter," I shook my head, "Diego, listen, they know we're here."

Diego scoffed, "Doubtful."

"Diego, listen to me," I grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back as he slowly moved towards the door Hazel came out of, "I was one of them, I know all their tricks and this is one of them! You're walking into a trap!"

Diego, of course, wouldn't listen. He easily shook me off his arm, causing me to fall onto my butt and roll backwards. I pushed my hat out of my eyes and glared at him. He was much too busy to see my glare, or he purposefully avoided it.

I watched as Diego placed a single firm kick on the door. It busted off its hinges and Diego barreled inside with his knives raised. I scrambled to follow him, nearly tripping over my own body in the process, "Stupid gangly teenage limbs!"

When I finally made it into the room, I found it completely abandoned save for Diego. He stood in the very middle of the room, his eyes scanning every inch for life. I stepped up next to him and sighed, "The place is abandoned."

"So much for your trap," Diego spun his knife in his hand and glanced over his shoulder, "They must have gone out while I wasn't looking."

I pinched the bridge of my nose as Diego stepped outside of the room, "I bet they did a lot more than that."

Diego was outside before me. I glanced around the room, searching for any clues to where they might be. The clue should be me, as I was one of the people they were looking for. The next place they would go was the next place I would go, and I had no idea where that was.

A crumpled paper ball teetering on the edge of the bed got my attention. I cautiously grabbed it, unrolling it as quietly as I could. The writing hadn't been ruined by the crumpling, only a little torn and worn.

It was a message from Five with a time, place, and a bargain. I read the note as my eyes widened, "He has a briefcase."

Somehow, Five had gotten a hold of their briefcase and was offering an exchange for it. I had no idea how on Earth he could have possibly managed to get a hold of their briefcase. Klaus was the one who had it last, perhaps he hid it somewhere and Five found it.

Just as I spun around to go ask him, I heard tires squealing and the unmistakable sound of a shotgun cocking. I had been right, it was a trap, but the trap was outside the motel when I thought it was inside. Shoving the paper in my pocket, I sprinted outside just as gunshots began popping.

Diego and Klaus were both standing at the top of the stairs. Without hesitation, I dove in front of them and threw up a shield. It solidified just in time for the bullets to bounce off harmlessly. One ricocheted and smashed a nearby window.

Hazel was driving their car as Cha Cha hung out the window and shot at us. Her pink dog helmet was fully blown up and bulletproof, it's one remaining ear flapping in the wind as she shot at us.

I kept my shield up until Hazel and Cha Cha had driven out of sight. As soon as I dropped it, Diego began to rush down the stairs, "Come on, we're losing them!"

"Oh, thanks for saving my life, Clove," I huffed as I rushed to follow him, "No problem, Diego, how kind of you to thank me."

Hazel and Cha Cha were much smarter than to drive off and leave us with a way to follow. Not only had they ripped off the tracker Diego put on their car, but they shot all four of his tires flat. The car was completely immobile and we were stranded.

"Great," I rolled my neck to look up at Diego, "What's your brilliant plan now?"

Diego rubbed his temples, "Do you ever stop talking?"

"When it's convenient."

"It's convenient now."

"Oh, I mean when it's convenient to me," I smirked at him.

Diego wrinkled his nose and looked like he was ready to shout several choice words at me, but Klaus interrupted. We heard the clicking of a lock as I could feel the wind from the door opening blow against my few loose strands of hair. Diego and I both glanced to our left to see Klaus half-hanging out of the ice cream truck, "You guys like ice cream, right?"

"Move over," Diego stomped to the front seat, "I'm driving."

Klaus pouted, "Come on, Diego, just because I don't have a license doesn't mean I can't drive."

"I could drive too, you know," I stood behind them with crossed arms.

Diego glared at me, "You're thirteen."

"Wrong again, I'm fifty-eight."

"Well you look thirteen, and I think a cop would pull over a thirteen-year-old driving real fast."

"You think she looks thirteen?" Klaus climbed into the drivers seat and innocently locked the door, "I think she looks nine."

I wiggled my finger at him, "Don't get on my bad side."

"Aw, I'm on your good side? I've never been on anyone's good side."

Diego swung into the passenger seat and grumbled, "We're losing them, we have to go!"

"Where?" Klaus gripped tightly to the wheel, "We don't even know where they're going!"

"I do," I dug the note from Five out of my pocket and handed it to Klaus.

Klaus handed it to Diego, who opened it and read it, "They're going to 290."

"290? Nobody drives 290!" Klaus exclaimed.

"Which is why it's the perfect meeting spot," Diego smirked and crumpled the paper, "Go, Klaus, go!"

I jumped in the back just as Klaus peeled out of the parking lot. The back of the ice cream truck was wide open, and I could hang my legs out as Klaus sped down the road. The freezer was right next to me. As I sucked on a popsicle, I dangled my legs out of the car and hoped Klaus wouldn't kill us before the apocalypse did.

I was absolutely sure we wouldn't survive the ride. Klaus took every sharp turn he could and went way faster than the ice cream truck should be able to. He cut through traffic and weaved in a way any experienced driver would worry about, but he did it like it was nothing. Several times, I had to pull in my legs or else they'd get taken off by the car Klaus cut in front of.

Klaus didn't slow down when we got to a relatively abandoned road. My eyes caught the road sign identifying it as 290 and I grinned. We were almost there, somewhere down that road were two current assassins and an ex-assassin.

Klaus took a particularly high bump and I nearly bounced out of the ice cream truck. I fell onto my back and gripped the bottom of the freezer with my freehand to keep from flying out. When I came back up, we were passing a car.

Five and Luther stood in front of the car, with Luther holding up a briefcase. They both had dumbfounded looks on their faces as they watched us pass. When Five saw me in the back, he flung up his hands, "Clove! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I was making sure your brothers didn't get themselves killed!"

"It's a set up!" a familiar female voice I identified as Cha Cha shouted, "Shoot, Hazel, shoot!"

The explosion of a gun rang out but the gunshots never came. The sound of a gun shooting bullets and the sound of the bullets exiting the chamber are two different things that combine to form one sound. Usually it's a boom and a pop, the combination of exploding gunpowder and air popping as the bullet leaves the chamber. This time, however, it was just a boom.

Klaus hit another high bump I wasn't expecting this time. I was flung in the air and out of the truck, rolling on the hot asphalt and scraping most of my body. My hat went one direction, one of my boots in another, while the rest of me went in another direction entirely.

I came down but the truck never did. When I flung my head up and glanced at the truck, it's butt was still in the air from where it had flung me out. Just past it, I could see Hazel and Cha cha frozen mid-shoot, their bullets still hanging in the air in front of them. Even Luther was frozen with his arms spread out like wings and a confused yet determined look on his face.

"Clove!"

Five hurried over to me and fell into a crouch at my head. He gently grabbed my arms and helped me to a sitting position. As I rubbed my head, he held my arms, "Are you alright?"

"Fine, just fine," I pushed my hair out of my face, "What the hell just happened?"

"Neat trick, isn't it?"

Five and I both glanced up simultaneously as if we had practiced. That silky smooth voice could only ever belong to one person; The Handler. The very same woman with the very same white hair and outrageous sense of fashion that brought us out of the apocalypse in the first place.

Her outfit was somewhat toned down this time, something which I found surprising. She was dressed as if in mourning with a pure black dress with petticoats and heels to match. Even her tiny hat, which she had to keep pinned to her hair or else it would just slide off, was pure black.

She smiled at us, her ruby red lips always perfectly sculpted. I swore she never left a trace of her lipstick, sometimes I wondered if it really was lipstick. She gently pushed up her short veil and took off her extra large cat's eye sunglasses, "Hello Five. Hello Clove. It's been a long time, a few years perhaps. Of course, you both were a lot older then."

"Time is funny that way," Five faked a smile as we both stood up, "It's good to see you."

The Handler smiled, "Likewise. You are both looking well. I've got to say, it was brilliant, reversing your age. Really threw us off the scent."

Five retrieved my hat as I hopped over to grab my boot. He popped the hat on my head as I struggled to get my foot inside the boot, "I wish I could take credit. I miscalculated the time dilation and, well, here we are."

"A whole lot younger," a straightened my hat, "But no different on the inside."

The Handler smiled, but only ever so slightly, "That is where it counts, is it not?"

"It doesn't matter how old you are, it only matters that you get the job done."

"Ah, yes, your little job. You do realize your efforts are futile?" The Handler hid her hands, as well as her briefcase, behind her back, "What is meant to be is meant to be, the acts of two children cannot change that. What is it you really want?"

Five copied her gesture, hiding his hands behind his back as he stepped up closer to me. I felt something hard press into my lower back, not too hard but just enough to get my attention. Slyly, I hid my hands behind my back and took the small pistol Five was discreetly passing to me. I could see, out of the corner of my eye, he held a gun as well.

"I thought it'd be obvious by now," I silently cocked the gun behind my back, "We want you to stop the apocalypse."

"As I said, what is meant to be is meant to be, we cannot change that."

"Isn't that what The Commission does?" Five barely even moved his face as he spoke, "Alters the timeline?"

The Handler shrugged, "We only do what is necessary to uphold and maintain the proper timeline. You wouldn't want it splintering and fragmenting, that is when worlds end and people go mad. It is impossible to change that."

"I highly doubt that," Five brought out his gun and pointed it at The Handler.

I was quick to follow. We didn't even have to speak, but we both knew exactly when to bring our guns out. Our hands moved in one solid motion until The Handler stood at the end of two gun chambers.

"I'll just be replaced," The Handler didn't even flinch, "I'm just a part of a machine, a cog that can easily be replaced."

"Perhaps, but in the time it takes for the board to replace you, we could stop the apocalypse twice over," I held the gun with both hands.

The Handler shook her head, "Shoot me now and my replacement will come in what seems like seconds to you."

Five and I both hesitated. I caught him glancing at me from the corner of his eyes as I did the same. She was right, of course, we knew she was right. The board could easily replace her and send her replacement to this exact moment in time. Our threats were empty and she knew it.

"You're living in a fantasy," The Handler took a tender step forward, "Both of you. Five of rallying his family to stop the apocalypse, and Clove of one day, perhaps, becoming a part of that family."

Five shifted ever so slightly and I gripped my gun tighter, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You know you don't belong here," The Handler took another step forward until one of our gun barrels was sticking into each of her shoulders, "You are both out of time, and out of body. We can fix that."

Five didn't even move, "What are you getting at?"

"We, back at The Commission, admire your dedication, your determination to your goals," The Handler smiled, "We want to offer you a job, both of you. In management."

She smiled at Five as she said the last sentence. I glanced between Five and The Handler, a thousand and one thoughts running through my mind. The most prominent of all was: it's a trap.

"I'm sorry," Five blinked rapidly.

I tilted my head, "What's that?"

"Come back to The Commission, you know it's where you both belong," The Handler's smile was dripping with poison.

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously, because it worked out so well last time."

"Oh, but you wouldn't be in corrections this time," The Handler gently pushed both our guns down, "I'm talking management. Healthcare, free donuts on Thursdays, pensions, the whole package. No more traveling, you'll be at the home office."

Five and I both hesitated, our eyes glued to her. What she offered was enticing, I'll give her that, but it was so obviously a trap. Taking us out of 2019 and out of time travel entirely would take us out of the way of stopping the apocalypse. It was so clearly a trap, the only way it could have been clearer was if she came with a blinking neon sign.

"You two are distinguished professionals in school boy shorts and grade school hats," The Handler looked us up and down with her nose wrinkled, "We have the technology to reverse that."

Five frowned, "You can make us ourselves again?"

"Just as you were before the unfortunate jump through time."

"As enticing as that sounds," I frowned, "I like having working knees."

"We could fix that too. We could give you bodies that match your age, but without all the joint pain," she used the backs of her fingers to gently stroke our cheeks, "You can't honestly tell me you are happy like this."

Her touch sent electric shivers throughout my body. My hair stood on edge and, by the way Five glanced at me, his did as well. I took a deep breath to still the energy flowing inside of me, calming it as she retracted her hand.

"We aren't looking for happy," Five spat.

"We're all looking for happy," The Handler smiled, "We can make that happen."

For a moment, Five hesitated, staring directly into the eyes of The Handler. I did my best to stare her down as well, but Five was always better at that. He could intimidate a person without ever having to say a word.

"What about my family?" Five muttered.

I slowly turned to glance at him, raising my eyebrows as if asking if he was honestly considering this. The Handler frowned, "What about them?"

"I want them to survive," Five retorted, "I want them to be safe."

She glanced between Luther, Diego, and Klaus, "All of them?"

"Yes, all of them."

Taking one last glance at Five's brothers, she pulled out her sunglasses and gently pushed them onto her face. Her gloves were lace with small flowers embroidered on them, and she gently tugged at the fingers as if they had been pushed too far up, "I'll see what I can do."

Five stared at the Handler as I stared at Five. He placed his gun at his back, between his waistband and his skin, and asked, "Might we have a moment to discuss your offer?"

"Of course," The Handler pulled her veil over her eyes once again, "I would expect no less."

Five smiled at her before grabbing my wrist and gently pulling me several feet away. We ended up standing behind the frozen Luther, using him as a wall between us and The Handler. Whenever Five released my arm, I threw them both in the air and whisper-shouted, "You can't honestly be considering this."

"I think we should accept," Five whispered.

"What?!" I continued to speak in hissing whisper-shouts, "This is very obviously a trap, Five!"

Five pulled my arms so they were back at my sides, "I know, I know, they just want to get us away from 2019 so we can't stop the apocalypse, but, listen, I have an idea."

He ducked his head slightly and I followed suit. We leaned closer together, still hiding behind Luther, as Five whispered, "We've got three days left to stop the apocalypse, and we can't do that if we have no leads. If we can find the Commission's file on the apocalypse, maybe we can find a lead."

I lifted an eyebrow, "They won't give it up easily."

"We'll have to steal it, and the only way to do that is to become one of them."

"Once we get the file and find our lead, we'll have to get out of there," I muttered, "Even if we steal a briefcase, they'll be after us. We've got three days left to stop the apocalypse and we can't do that with corrections on our asses every five minutes, we'll have to stop them in their tracks."

"Are you suggesting we stop them at their roots?" Five whispered, "Destroy the home office?"

I frowned, "All we need to do is destroy the briefcases. We steal one to get us back here and we destroy the rest."

"We'll need some sort of weapon," Five pushed his hair back.

"I could short-circuit their wiring."

"That will take too much time," Five sighed, "I'm not sure if your energy is the right kind to short-circuit their sophisticated equipment."

My shields were made of electric energy, but it was electric energy that came from the energy inside me. There was a chance I could short-circuit the briefcases, but I was also worried it wasn't the right energy. It didn't come from electricity, it came from me.

"We'll have to make do with what we can find," Five muttered, "The only way we can destroy the briefcases and get the file is if we get to the home office."

"And this is the only way to get there," I mumbled.

Five nodded, "I don't like it, but it's the only way."

"It sounds like a terrible idea, let's do it."

"Deal?"

"Deal."

We both nodded before standing up straight and casually walking to The Handler. We stood side by side as Five said, "Alright, we'll take your deal."

"Brilliant," The Handler stuck out her hand, "Shall we?"

Five glanced at Luther, Hazel, Cha Cha, Diego, and Klaus, "One thing."

The Handler and I both watched as Five unloaded both Hazel and Cha Cha's guns. He threw the bullets one way while he threw the gun in the other. Very few bullets made it past the chamber, but those that did, Five angled towards the nearby empty fields. The Handler and I were both waiting whenever he returned.

Five grabbed my shoulder as I shook The Handler's hand. With a sly grin and a click of the briefcase locks, we were gone and time restarted.


	18. In A Hole and Digging It Deeper

I had only ever been to the home office once. During our time in the corrections unit, Five and I were usually traveling around from job to job. The time we spent training was at an entirely different facility in a different time period. The one time I had been here was only briefly, when our briefcase had been damaged and we needed a replacement. We hadn't even gotten past the small white observatory all the time traveling agents appeared in before a briefcase was stuffed in our hands and we were forced to leave. This time, not only were we going beyond the observatory, we were going into the home office itself.

The home office was not at all how I pictured it. I always imagined a place much like a prison, with barbed wire over huge concrete fences. Instead of the constant lightning storm I pictured, the sun was always shining. Colorful flowers lined the gravel leading up to the main building where vintage cars rested.

The building itself looked like any house. It was not quite as large as Hargreeve's house, but it was pretty close. The red brick gave it an optical illusion sort of effect to where I could never quite tell how big the building truly was. Shutters so perfectly white they had to be painted each day reflected the ever-present sunlight. It seemed like the matching door never closed because of the constant swarm of people filing in and out of it.

I had no idea The Commission was so large. I knew there were plenty of corrections agents scattered across time, but seeing all of the case managers and upper management congregated in one place really put into perspective just how large The Commission truly was. Every single one of those people had suddenly become our enemies when they may have once been our friends. They were the largest corporation in and around history, and we were on their bad side.

"In all my years here, I have never seen anyone quite like you two," The Handler walked between us as we approached the house, "Hazel and Cha Cha, they're good, but they can't see the bigger picture like you can. You two can see ten steps ahead and behind, a rare quality."

We turned around some bushes as The Handler kept talking, "And you're teamwork is admirable. Fifty years together, I'm astounded you haven't killed each other yet!"

Five and I caught eyes behind The Handler's back. Every word she said was met with suspicion from the both of us, but me especially. Five could be feeling ten million things all at once and I would never be able to tell. My emotions, however, were written all over my face. In the way I wrinkled my nose and purposefully tried to avoid eye contact, The Handler knew I was taking every word she said with a grain of salt.

"You two have spunk," The Handler chuckled, "If things work out for you here, perhaps one of you would make a fine replacement for me when I retire."

I noticed how she continued to separate us with everything she said. Even when she referenced our teamwork, she alluded we should have killed each other already. When she addressed us, she addressed us separately, even outlining a potential future separated.

That didn't fly by me as I am sure it didn't fly by Five. The two of us had always been Five and Clove, Clove and Five, a deadly assassin duo that had faced the apocalypse and came out stronger. We were deadly alone, yes, but together we were unstoppable. Something told me The Handler picked up on that.

Hundreds of people moved about The Commission home office. Some wheeled carts, some carried weapons or briefcases, others had their arms laden with files upon files stacked precariously on top of each other. Each one parted for us as we approached, though I got the feeling they were parting more for The Handler than for Five and me.

"I would like to discuss the logistics of my family's safety at your earliest convenience," Five's age really showed when he spoke in his professional voice, "As well as our new bodies."

The Handler offered a curt chuckle, "So much gusto, I admire that. All in due time, Five, for now, slow down. Enjoy it. Here, you've got all the time in the world."

"Time might be ours to manipulate," I stuffed my hands in my pockets and frowned, "But even it is finite."

"It's also not unlimited," The Handler tapped me on the nose, much to my dismay, "Even miracles take time."

She led us up the stairs and down the endless halls. The house must be bigger inside than it seems outside, because it never seemed to end. Even with the optical illusion of the bricks outside, I could tell it had to end somewhere. This never seemed to end.

The first place we went seemed more like a basement than a room. There were no windows and the floors, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same smooth, dark concrete. Five's shoes thudded on the concrete while mine made scraping noises, both of which were silenced by the intensity of The Handler's clicking heels.

What caught my eye was the briefcase room. In an area sectioned off by white walls, there was a tiny room holding the only light in the entire place. Several rows of briefcases and gas masks were illuminated by a sickly yellow light one might expect to see in abandoned hospitals.

"The Commission works with the delicate balance of the timeline and humanity's freewill," The Handler explained, "We work to even the scales on both sides. Free will is a fickle thing, more trouble than it's worth if you ask me, and it is oh so easy to alter the timeline. When that happens, well-"

She mimed explosion noises with a sweet smile that should not accompany the destruction of the universe, "Our job is to make sure that doesn't happen with the use of corrections and case management."

As we passed the briefcase room, both Five and I lingered, our eyes glued to the room. It was almost too easy, all of the briefcases were in one spot as if asking to be blown up. A cold hand grabbed my shoulder, jerking me away from the room, "You two no longer have need for briefcases, open your minds. You're one of us now."

She took us out of the room and it seemed like we entered an entirely different world. Rather than the dark concrete room one might expect in a grizzly action movie, we were back in a quaint homely hall. The paintings on the blue walls and ornate vases situated on end tables throughout the hall gave it a suburban sort of feel. It was exactly the sort of home you would expect to find in the 1950s, except for the deadly time agency hidden inside, of course.

"We have almost as many case managers as we have corrections agents," The Handler clasped her hands together, "We would have too, or else it gets confusing. Oh, time is as time does, I suppose."

She laughed, glancing at Five and me as if expecting us to laugh as well. I gave her an empathetic, weak sort of chuckle while Five didn't even react. He simply stared at her.

"Our case managers are the backbone of this institution," The Handler spun around to the doorway of a room, "Each one responsible for one major event in history."

The room we looked in never seemed to end. The further I looked, the foggier it became, all distorted and blurry like I was looking into a field covered in fog. Row of desks, each with a case manager, stretched as far as the eye could see. All I could hear was clicking and talking, it was practically overwhelming.

"Impressive, isn't it?" The Handler sighed, "To be a part of something so grand."

I winced slightly at the noise, "That's a lot of cogs."

"Thousands of cogs to power the most glorious machine in the universe."

I couldn't help but think her words were like propaganda for The Commission. As if the entire point of her tour was to convince us they were the good guys. She wanted us to fall in love with the commission, and the thought made me wrinkle my nose.

She took us around a corner and to a room that was situated away from foot traffic. The floor was slightly shinier than others, telling me very few people moved through here at a time. Through the open door I could hear the whooshing of air and a popping sound similar to a bottle being uncorked.

"Five, Clove, I want you to meet Gloria," The Handler stepped into the room and gestured to a woman, "She is one of the most essential people in The Commission."

The older woman blushed and waved her off. Her hair had almost completely gone gray, with a few stubborn chestnut hairs being the only ones remaining. Her blazer and pencil skirt reminded me a bit of a carpet bag as they were made of the same material. Both were so tight I wondered if they were the only things keeping her up, as she was hunched over and seemed to be ready to fall over at any second. She gently repositioned her glasses on the tip of her nose and smiled at us, "It's wonderful to meet you, dearies. So glad we ended the contract on your lives."

"Gloria is in charge of all the tubes," The Handler gestured to the room, "She sends out the messages to our corrections agents."

The room itself went as far as the eye could see, just like the last. It was structured like an underground service tunnel complete with pipes that covered the walls entirely. Each tube sucked in air, giving a constant white noise in the background. Perhaps they had once been labeled, but barely any remnants of the papers were left on the old metal tubes.

"Gloria has been with us the longest, and she's just a few months away from retirement," The Handler smiled at Gloria, "We will all miss her when she's gone."

Gloria waved her off, "Oh, stop it."

"She'll need a replacement," The Handler looked at me directly, "That's where you come in, Clove."

I tore myself away from the tubes, "I'm sorry, what?"

"You will be Gloria's apprentice, and her eventual replacement."

Five stared at The Handler, "I thought we were both supposed to be management."

"Oh, you thought correctly," The Handler slithered her arm over Five's shoulders, something which I could tell made him uncomfortable, "You, Five, are going to be in case management while Clove here is in- well- tube management."

The grin across The Handler's face was much like that of a snake. She was up to something, I knew it. She was separating us on purpose there was no doubt in that.

I wanted to object, but I knew I couldn't. We were here on a mission and the only way the mission would work is if we both played our roles. One glance at Five told me I was right when he gave me the tiniest of nods.

"Don't look so sad," The Handler smiled at us, "You'll see each other at lunch. Come, Five, I'll show you where you will be working."

The Handler forcibly directed Five out of the tube room. For a moment, Gloria and I just stood there watching them go. I kept my hands in my pockets and my facial expressions sturdy as Gloria gave them a cheerful wave. Only once they had vanished around the corner did Gloria turn to me.

"Alrighty, young lady," she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "Working the tubes is a delicate and crucial process. One tiny mistake and the entire Commission could implode. Come, let's begin your training."

Gloria began to hobble down the tube room. Stuffing my hands in my pockets and following her, I muttered, "Call me young lady one more time-"

"Now, you won't be handling any of the tubes just yet," Gloria sat at her desk and gestured for me to sit across from her, "That's my job. For now, I will teach you how to file each individual tube."

She pulled out a few buckets with empty tubes in them. Setting it on the table, she smiled at me, "They're sorted by time period, agent, and hemisphere. Each bucket has a different category, and it will be your job to put them in the correct category and load the buckets onto my cart for me to send down the tubes."

She handed me the bucket of tubes needing to be filed as well as the buckets to file them in. As she took the already filled cart down the hall of tubes, I stared at the bucket in my arms, an idea slowly brewing in my mind.

The job I had wasn't ideal. I might not be able to directly access the tube system, but I could still use this to my advantage. Gloria wouldn't know if another tube or two was quietly slipped in with the rest, camouflage in the crowd.

We only had three days left to stop the apocalypse and we had already wasted at least three trying to stop Hazel and Cha Cha. If we could get them off our backs, as well as the rest of The Commission, we might have time to actually stop the apocalypse before The Commission was on our asses again.

If I could get Hazel and Cha Cha to take each other out, we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. I had full access to the tube room and what tubes would be filed away to go where. All I needed to do was file the right tubes in the right places and hope Gloria didn't ask too many questions. It was the perfect plan.

"Just wait until Five hears," I muttered as I began to file the different tubes.


	19. We've Upgraded From Teenaged Angst To Grown Ass Adult Angst

My lunch was before Gloria's, and she bid me farewell before I left the tube room. As far as she knew, I was heading down to the cafeteria. Instead of taking a sharp right towards the staircase, I took a hard left towards the endless halls where case management resided.

I had the perfect plan to finally get Hazel and Cha Cha off our backs, the only problem was it could potentially alert The Handler that we were up to something. I have noticed how meticulous Gloria is about how many tubes are brought to her room, and she makes sure the exact number of tubes are sent to their proper locations. There was a chance she would become suspicious about two extra tubes, and we had to be out of there before that happened.

Five had to get the file for the apocalypse first. That was our main goal, even more than getting rid of any chance of The Commission following us. Without a lead, we couldn't stop the apocalypse, and our last chance was in that file.

We had to make a plan. The longer we stay here, the more danger we're in and the more time we waste. We had to get the file and get out as soon as we could.

Several case managers and other Commission personnel bustled about the halls. The bells hadn't gone off for lunch just yet, but that didn't stop some people. Some, like me, had first lunch while their partners had second. Most ignored me as they sped through the halls, or they didn't see me. I had to fight my way through the crowds. I pushed past bodies and carts, muttering pleasantries as I did.

Finally, the door for case management appeared at the end of the hall. Just as I passed an intersecting hall, a cold arm fell across my shoulder and a familiar Cruella De Ville voice called, "Clove! Just the girl I was looking for!"

The Handler squeezed me to her side in sort of a one-armed hug. I didn't return it, instead straightening my hat from where she knocked it crooked, "You were looking for me?"

"Oh, of course," she stepped between me and case management, "Have you had your lunch yet?"

"No, I was just heading to find Five and-"

"Oh, forget about Five, he's really enthralled with this new case I gave him," The Handler bounced her eyebrows as if she had just spilled the juiciest secret in the world, "Why don't you come into my office and have lunch with me? Just us gals."

She winked at me and flashed a winning smile. For a moment, my eyes went past her to case management, but I quickly brought them back to her. As much as I wanted to turn her down, I knew I couldn't. Five and I were on a mission and, in order to complete that mission, we had to play the part. As far as The Handler knew, we were happy to be here and I had to pretend like that was true.

"Sounds wonderful," I did my best to plaster a fake smile across my face.

"Spectacular!" The Handler slithered her arm around my shoulders once again and began to lead me down the halls, away from case management.

She led me down the halls, all the while keeping her arm across my shoulders. Everyone parted when they heard the clicking of her heels and they shot her nervous smiles as she passed. As we stepped into her office, she said, "I burnt my rougie not too long ago, you ever burn your rougie, Clove?"

"Can't say I have," I muttered, glancing around her office.

"It's a terrible feeling," she fell to sit in her chair and gestured for me to sit in the one across from her, "The doctor put me on a strictly liquid diet for three weeks. I'll drink my shake and live vicariously through you as you eat solid food."

She hit a button on her intercom and her assistant hurried in with a tray. She carried a strawberry protein shake along with a plate holding a turkey sandwich and a few chips. She sat the plate in front of me after passing the shake to The Handler. With a quick nod, she was gone, leaving the Handler and I alone in her foreboding office.

The office itself was open and airy. One entire wall was made up of windows, giving the room natural light rather than industrial. The blinds were thin and white, as were the walls, which only served to reflect the light.

Behind the Handler, a bookcase stretched all the way to the cathedral ceiling. It contained books without any writing on the spines, and it seemed as if none of them had been moved in years. A fine layer of dust coated both the tops and sides of every book on the shelf.

Scattered through the echoing room were trinkets and mirrors. Most seemed to have some sort of historical value, perhaps tokens from The Handler's travels. Some were weapons such as pistols, grenades, and even a mace from the middle ages.

The room made me feel small, despite my efforts to sit tall. The very walls seem to be folding in on me, taunting me and telling me I'm just a kid. I could clearly feel the presence of every weapon in that room. Each one would only take a second for The Handler to use against me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as The Handler relaxed in her chair.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked through sips of her shake, "I hope I didn't order the wrong sandwich."

I took a breath and leaned back, grabbing my sandwich on the way, "How did you know I love turkey?"

"Everybody loves turkey."

She smiled slightly. The way she smiled was like she was at lunch with one of her oldest friends. Casual, relaxed, and with no ulterior motive. Oddly, the thought made me calm down slightly. Perhaps there was no ulterior motive and I was just paranoid.

"How are you finding the tube room?" The Handler asked.

I roughly swallowed a bite of sandwich, "Enlightening. I never knew how you managed to get so many tubes across time and space without getting them all confused."

"I have no idea how Gloria does it," The Handler flung her hands in the air and dramatically shrugged, "Thousands of tubes, twice as many agents, and millions of years of human history and somehow she manages to keep them all in order."

I chuckled, "I suppose even Gloria has her secrets."

"Don't we all," The Handler only moved her eyes to look up at me, "You'll be learning those secrets soon, Clove."

"I don't know, Gloria seems very attached to them."

"Oh, but you'll have to learn, if you want to stay here," The Handler leaned on her desk and smiled, "Gloria is retiring soon and you're to be her replacement, isn't that exciting?"

She clapped slightly and gazed at me as if expecting me to clap along. Instead, I just stared at her blankly and shrugged, "She's been here so long, I feel bad replacing her."

The Handler fell back in her seat and looked at me. I did my best not to shift under her gaze, but it felt like spiders were crawling on my skin as she looked me up and down. Her smile and her gaze should be nothing but friendly, it seemed like pure friendliness, but I couldn't help but feel my skin crawl. I became uncomfortable under her gaze and shifted slightly, clearing my throat as I slowly nibbled on my sandwich.

"What do you want most in the world, Clove?" The Handler asked.

Her question blindsided me. I nearly choked on my sandwich, taking a quick sip of water as I did my best not to hack. Clearing my throat, I glanced up at her, "Pardon?"

"What does Clove Thindrel want most in the world?"

It had been a long time since I heard my full name, and I oddly didn't like it. It sounded unnatural, almost weird, like it wasn't my real name. Meeting her eyes, I didn't even react, "I don't think you'll like the answer to that."

"Ah, yes, stopping the apocalypse," The Handler folded her hands over her desk, "But is that what you really want?"

"I saw what happens after whatever it is hits the Earth, and I'd like to stop it."

"A naïve fantasy created by two little kids," The Handler shook her head, "You're not in the apocalypse anymore, Clove. What is it that you really want most in the world?"

She stood up and slowly began to move around the desk. Her fingertips brushed against the back of my neck, making all of my hairs stand straight up and every alarm bell go off in my head. Leaning against the desk, she gazed directly down at me, "Let's say you and Five do manage to stop the apocalypse, then what? What comes next?"

I didn't respond because I didn't know how to respond. It had never been a thought that truly crossed my mind until then. I had been so focused on stopping the apocalypse, I wasn't sure what would come next. Of course, I had hopes, but I felt as if I couldn't have plans until we were sure the apocalypse was stopped.

"I think I know what you want most in the world," The Handler gently pushed my chin up to make me look at her, "All you've ever wanted is family, am I right?"

Once again, I fell silent, unable to bring myself to respond. She was right, of course, but part of me didn't want to give her the satisfaction. She moved her face ever so slightly closer to mine, "There's nothing more in this world you want more than family, but not just any family. You want a family with the so-called 'Umbrella Academy', don't you?"

The way she said Umbrella Academy came dripping with so much poison it was like the evil queen's apple and I was Snow White. For a moment, I wasn't sure how to respond, but I quickly shook myself and pulled myself away from the poison dripping in the air around her, "I already have a family."

"Do you?" The Handler stood and walked around my chair, "I'd hardly call what you have a family."

"What do you mean?"

The Handler leaned on the back of my chair and chuckled, her lips uncomfortably close to my ear, "Your entire relationship with Five has been built on the apocalypse. From surviving it, escaping it, all the way to stopping it. Once there isn't an apocalypse anymore, what then? He already had no problem leaving you in the tube room, now did he?"

Deep down, I knew what she was doing. Alarm bells were blaring in my head but they were drowned out by the overwhelming darkness that had been there my entire life. Everyone I had ever cared about had abandoned me, even the world itself abandoned me at one point. More people have told me they don't want me around than those that do, eventually that starts to get to you.

I tried to tell myself she was wrong. She was just trying to get under my skin and I couldn't let her. Yet, it was so hard, somehow she knew just how to play at my deepest darkest fears.

"Five is my best friend," I did my best to keep my voice steady and strong, "He's my family, apocalypse or not."

The Handler twirled a strand of my hair around her fingers, "Maybe it seems that way now but you're not facing the apocalypse anymore. You're here, and what happened as soon as you got here?"

I didn't answer, I didn't want to answer. The Handler moved to lean against her desk once again and lean down close to me, "He left."

My skin turned to ice but I tried not to let her know. She continued to smile at me as if we were just having a casual conversation and she wasn't slowly pulling at the fragile walls of my mental stability. One strategic tug and the walls I had built would come crumbling down. She was a Trojan horse and I refused to let her inside.

"We can fix that," The Handler mused, "We could find your real family."

Against my will, I met her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"We've got all the time in the world at our disposal. We could find your mother and make sure she never abandons you in the first place. You could have a family again, Clove, a real family."

I frowned, "Isn't it The Commission's job to stop things like that from happening?"

"It's one of the perks of being in upper management," The Handler winked, "You're a part of the Commission family now, Clove, and we don't abandon our family."

She squeezed my shoulder, something which made my entire body go numb. Vaguely, I registered that my heart was beating much louder and faster than it should. It took all of my willpower to keep my breathing steady as The Handler practically stared me down.

"We could be your family, Clove," The Handler stood up and shrugged, moving back to her chair, "Your real family, and we never abandon our own."

She fell into her chair and lit her cigarette all while I simply stared at her. Smiling, she gestured to the door, "Why don't you think it over? I've got some work to do."

Blindly, I stood and left the room. I moved through the halls in a daze, all of the noise of the people walking past me turned into a dull background roar. As much as I tried to ignore everything she said, I couldn't help but feel the daggers her words formed pierce under my skin.

Somehow, she knew exactly how to hit me right where it hurts the worse. I had spent so long alone before I found Five, I didn't want to go through that again. After being abandoned so many times in my life, the fear of being abandoned once again was constantly looming over my head and stabbed me deep within my heart.

Deep down, I kept telling myself Five would never leave me. The Handler was trying to get me to turn against him, he would never leave me. We had been through hell and back together, there was no way he would leave now.

Yet I couldn't get over what she said; our relationship was built on the apocalypse. She was right, as much as I hated to admit it, I knew she was. We met when we were the last two people on Earth and we befriended each other because of it. Had the apocalypse not happened, we never would have met, perhaps we wouldn't have been friends even if we did meet. From the moment we met, our relationship had been defined by surviving, escaping and stopping the apocalypse. Once we do that, what then?

My own mother abandoned me. The person who is supposed to love you more than anyone in the world left me on the stoop of a convent without even ringing the bell. If my mother could abandon me so easily, what's stopping everyone else? As soon as we stopped the apocalypse, Five could easily ditch me just like everyone else did. His family already made it clear they didn't want me around, what's to say he wouldn't go with them and leave me behind?

My thoughts flooded my mind and my heart, bringing tears to my eyes that I quickly wiped away. I tried to tell myself it was just The Handler getting under my skin, but my anxiety got the best of me. As I stepped back into the tube room, all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry. My deepest fears were winning and, in the furthest depths of my mind, I knew that was exactly what The Handler wanted.


	20. Top 10 Anime Betrayals

It was difficult to focus on filing the tubes through blurry eyes. I had thought years spent in the apocalypse hardened me to anything the world could throw at me, but The Handler has some sort of magic about her. She always knows, almost in a supernatural way, how to push all the right buttons to crumble your walls without ever dropping her obviously fake smile.

As hard as I tried to convince myself she was lying, the part of me wondering if she was right won out. Demons lurking deep in my heart whispered into my ears, telling me I was never worth sticking around for in the first place. Everyone had abandoned me before, there had to be a reason, right? The only reason Five stuck around this long was out of necessity rather than real attachment. We were the last two people on Earth, and our relationship was built out of the desperate need for human contact we both had.

Perhaps The Handler was right and he would leave. Once we managed to stop the apocalypse, maybe his eyes would open and he'd realize why everyone else in my life had left me. Maybe then, he would leave too.

No, no I couldn't think that way. I shook myself as if shaking off spiders and wiped my eyes. I couldn't listen to what The Handler said, she was a chronic liar and manipulator. She was exactly who we were here to stop, and she knew it.

I couldn't listen to what The Handler said, but I could listen to Five. We had been together for nearly fifty years and his actions had never once been an intent to leave once this was all over. My mind flashed back to when we were sixteen in the apocalypse. I was sick, and I almost died. Five never left. He could have gotten sick too and then there would be no one left to stop the apocalypse, but he never left. He stayed, he took care of me, and he nursed me back to health. He stayed.

He never once acted like he had intentions to abandon me once we finally stopped the apocalypse. He was always the one making sure I ate enough or drank enough water. It was him who, in his own cross and stubborn ways, showed me he cared. Everytime I stopped to tie my shoe, Five stopped with me, even if our destination was just a few feet ahead.

Five was my best friend and he did more than enough to show me that I was his as well. Our relationship was more than just the apocalypse and it was more than something that existed only out of necessity. It was the most genuine relationship I had ever known, and it was cemented in our growing up together. I knew who he was and exactly how he got there, and he knew the same about me. There was a reason we worked so well together and I couldn't let anything The Handler said get in the way of that.

Taking a deep breath, I wiped my eyes for the last time and did my best to banish any negative thoughts. I would feel better once I could see Five, I didn't like how we were separated. I couldn't help but wonder if it was engineered. Deep down, I knew for a fact it was. 

I was sitting on the floor filing tubes when a woman walked in. The nametag on her polka dotted blue dress read Dot, something which I found oddly fitting. Her kinky curly hair was tucked back in a supernaturally neat bun. I could hear the heels on her shoes clicking as she nervously tapped her feet. In her hands, she spun a golden tube. If she held it for much longer, she might rub all the gold paint off.

"Is Gloria here?" her voice was shaky and she never once met my eyes.

By the way she took several steps away from where I sat and refused to look me directly in the face, I could tell it was me that was making her anxious. Instantly, all of my senses were on alert. She kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye, and taking a tiny step away every time she saw I was staring at her. That was the look of a guilty person, or of someone who was scared to call the other person guilty. I raised an eyebrow, "She just stepped out to lunch, perhaps I could help you?"

"Oh- uh-no," she hesitated, "I really need to talk to Gloria."

I crossed my arms, "If you have a tube to send, I need to file them all first. You can give it to me and I'll make sure Gloria gets it straight away."

I reached out for the tube but she jumped back and shouted, "No! Sorry- er- I mean, no, it is urgent that this gets sent now by Gloria."

That only heightened my suspicions. I leaned back on the desk and smiled, "Well then, Dot, you're welcome to wait for her."

She pushed down her skirts and pursed her lips, "Thank you."

"Clove," I continued to widen my smile, "Clove Thindrel, perhaps you've heard of me?"

Dot blinked, "Everyone here has heard of you."

I only smiled in response. Dot became even more jittery. Five was always much better at intimidation than I was, but I could make do. It didn't take much more than a sly grin and a suave demeanor to have Dot trembling in her shoes. She leaned against the wall and did her best to act casual, but I could still see the jagged movements she made. Her very eyes began to tremble and I wondered how she could see anything at all.

Gloria returned ten minutes later. The entire time, I continued to sort tubes while holding Dot within my peripherals. Something was up, and if it had to do with me, then it had to do with what we came here for. Patiently, I waited until Gloria stepped into the room, "Dot? Can I help you?"

Gloria hobbled up to Dot several feet away. They thought they were out of earshot, but I could still hear them if I focused. Dot got close to Gloria and passed her the tube, "The Handler knows Five and Clove are up to something, this needs to be sent out immediately."

Dot cut her eyes to me. I watched the tube get passed from Dot's hands to Gloria's, and my eyes caught sight of the names. Two names written in perfect black ink stood out to me clear as day.

Within seconds, I was on my feet. I used one hand to summon a shield to shut the door, and the other to create a shield between Dot and Gloria. The shield expanded so rapidly, it flung them both against the walls, knocking them unconscious. I accidentally kicked over a few tubes when I hurried to grab the tube Gloria dropped.

Crouching next to Gloria's head, I picked up the tube and read the recipients, "Hazel and Cha Cha. I knew it."

I popped open the top of the tube and poured out the letter. Unraveling, I read it under my breath, "Protect Harold Jenkins. Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?"

Hazel and Cha Cha were the corrections agents assigned to the apocalypse, or, more specifically, assigned to stop Five and me. If they were meant to protect Harold Jenkins, that meant Harold Jenkins had something to do with the apocalypse.

I quickly stuffed the note in my pocket and rushed to Gloria's desk. A few pieces of Commission stationary, just like the sort letters sent in tubes were written on, were stacked in one of her desks. I hurriedly used her typewriter to type out two messages; one for Hazel and one for Cha Cha, both ordering them to kill the other. Sealing them in spare tubes, I placed labels over them and hurried back to the tube system.

There were so many tubes, I wasn't quite sure how to start. Gloria had spent very little time training me, but it was just enough for me to locate the exact tube I needed. Tucked away in the Northern and Eastern Hemisphere was a small tube that read; The United States, 2019. That was exactly the one I needed. 

Just as I opened the lid and was about to drop the first tube in, heels clicked and a familiar voice spoke, "That's not how we do things around here, Clove."

I slowly turned to see The Handler standing in the doorway between Gloria's office and the tube room. She already had her gun out and pointed at me, though she had to know it would do no good. I froze in place as she glanced at the unconscious Gloria and Dot, "Look what you did, and I thought we were family."

"I know who my family is," I dropped the first tube, "And nothing you can say will change that."

She cocked her gun and took a step forward, "Don't do this, Clove. You could be the best, don't throw it all away."

"You can't stop us," I hovered the second tube above the drop.

The Handler smiled, "And you can't delay the inevitable."

Neither of us realized Dot had woken up. She had slowly crawled behind The Handler as we were both locked in a stare-down. Dot pressed herself against the wall out of sight and slowly slid up. Before I even realized what was happening, she had pulled the alarm and darted out of the room.

Red lights began to flash as the entire building was filled with sirens and a booming voice calling, "Security to the tube room. I repeat, security to the tube room."

The Handler was distracted just long enough for me to drop the tube down the shoot. When she heard the whooshing of the tube, she turned back to glare at me, "I'm disappointed in you, Clove. You just threw away the best chance in your life for getting what you really want."

"I know what I want," I balled my fists and glared at her, "And it's nothing you can give."

She began to shoot just as I threw up a shield that encompassed my entire body. Her bullets bounced right off my shield, and she even had to duck a few. After five bullets hitting the exact same spot, it began to splinter. She kept shooting and I knew it would shatter at any moment.

When it finally did, I ducked behind several tubes as she reloaded. Before she could shoot again, I jumped out and prepared to trap her in a shield, but I never got the chance. There was a soft whooshing noise right next to me. I flung myself around and shouted, "Five!"

Five grinned, "You're having fun without me?"

"It wasn't fun until you got here!"

"Foolish children," The Handler held her gun up to us, "You could've had it all."

Just as she began to shoot, Five pulled a grenade out of his pocket and pulled the key out. The Handler barely got out two bullets before she saw the grenade and gasped. Five dove out of the way of the bullets, grabbed my wrist, and warped us into the hall.

"Where the hell did you get grenades?!" I shouted as we sprinted through the hallways packed with panicked managers.

"The Handler's office," Five held up a grenade and winced, holding his stomach with his free hand, "She keeps weapons as trophies."

"Oddly that doesn't surprise me!"

We ducked several security guards and Five warped us onto the staircase. The entire time, we never stopped running. Years of practice taught me how to keep running as Five warped us from place to place.

"We need to go," Five jumped over the last two steps, "I've got one more grenade for the briefcases."

I ducked a few case managers as we kept running, "And I know who causes the apocalypse."

"How?!"

"I intercepted a message from Dot to Hazel and Cha Cha!"

"She was our case manager!" Five jumped over a cart, "She's the one in charge of the apocalypse!"

"In that case, I definitely got the right guy!"

We sprinted into the same concrete room we visited when we first arrived. Most of the agents had vacated the area, but a few security guards remained. Five pulled the grenade out of his pocket and bolted towards the briefcase room as I stood between the room and the approaching guards.

Flinging up my hands, I could feel my hair stand up straight as a dome shield appeared around the approaching guards. They ran straight into my flickering shield, falling onto their butts and shouting several curses that never made it past the shield. I laughed as Five busted out of the briefcase room and grabbed my wrist, "Time to run!"

He dragged me through the room, all the while clutching a briefcase to his chest. Neither of us looked back as the briefcase room exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. A few pieces flung around us, but it seemed like we made it out relatively unharmed.

Five and I kept a tight grip on each other as we sprinted through the halls. It was easy to knock out the agents and security guards sent after us. A well placed shield or space jump got them off our tails quickly. Every so often, we'd throw a few punches or kicks, and they would fall to the ground as we kept running.

We finally made it out to the yard with a steady trail of agents following us the entire way. In the middle of the grass, Five dropped to his knees with the briefcase in front of him. I didn't hesitate in standing over him and flinging up a shield.

The agents all began to slam their fists against my domed shield. It echoed loudly inside, much like shouts in a cave, making me wince. Glancing down at Five, I muttered through gritted teeth, "Any time now!"

"I'm working on it!" Five huffed, "These things aren't as easy to activate as they look!"

He clicked the handles in a specific order that made the entire briefcase light up. Once the blue light died down, the briefcase whirred and fell silent. Five jumped up, looped his arm around me, and clicked the locks on the briefcase. With a simple pop and a bright blue light, we vanished, and the Commission agents all fell over themselves as my shield suddenly went away.


	21. Dude, We're Getting The Band Back Together!

I blame my chronic dry-eye on how many times I had to travel with a briefcase in my life. One day, I was sure my eyes were going to pop out of my head with all these incessant travels. Even before we appeared on the bar, my eyes were already dry as sandpaper.

Five kept a tight grip on me as we warped through all of time and space. Time traveling goes by in a blink, it's difficult to actually perceive anything that happens from one point to the next. It seemed like just a blink of the eye and we had suddenly appeared on the bar in the Hargreeves' living room.

The briefcase was clutched tightly to Five's chest, and he landed on top of it. I was held tightly in his arm, my body flinging out like a flag. When we landed, Five stalled on the bar and fell off towards the front. I hit the counter behind and fell flat on my face on the floor below.

"Five!" Allison's voice rang out through the echoing living room.

"Clove!" I recognized Diego's voice as he knelt next to my head.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Allison called out once again as a loud thunk radiated from the opposite side of the bar.

I could hear Luther's voice booming over hers, "Who did this?"

"Irrelevant," Five's voice was weaker than usual and oddly strained.

Even if time traveling seemed like only a second, it was always nice to be back on solid ground. My head was spinning as I felt like I was going to throw up. I vaguely registered someone grabbing my arms and pulling me to my knees. Blinking, I could make out the form of Diego.

"Where's Five?" I rubbed my eyes furiously.

Diego glanced over the bar, "Currently, he's chugging Allison's coffee."

Through my blurry vision, I could see Five downing an entire cup of coffee and still clutching the now-sparking briefcase. Diego helped me around the bar, something which I thanked him for.

When I made it to his side, Five handed me the handkerchief he always carried during our time traveling missions. He would never say it, but I think he carried it just for my eyes. I had never seen him use it, except to pull it out of his pocket and hand it to me. I used it to wipe the tears desperately trying to wet my eyes.

"The apocalypse is in three days," Five gulped down his last sip of coffee, "The last thing standing between the world and the end of it all is- well- us."

I handed Five back his handkerchief as Klaus frowned, "But, last time, we died."

"What gives us a fighting chance this time?" Diego demanded.

"This time, you have us," Five never once broke his glare, "Me and Clove, that changes it."

"Five-"

"You didn't have us before, and you died," I interrupted before Diego could go off on Five, "Just us being here is changing the timeline enough to give us- all of us- a real fighting chance at actually stopping this thing."

Allison glanced at Luther before turning back to Five, "I don't know-"

"Look, you all need to get your sideshow acts together or in three days none of this is going to exist," Five crumpled his coffee cup in his hand, "Dad messed us up, he tried to make a team and he failed, but are we going to let that define us? Dad couldn't make us a team, but we can."

Luther, Diego, Allison, and Klaus all exchanged slow glances. They seemed to be thinking it over, but my gaze was on Five. That was the first time I had ever heard him give an inspirational speech, and he had a hidden talent for it. Perhaps it came from his frustration at their stubbornness and unwillingness to help so far, but it was still a rousing speech nonetheless.

"Where do we even start?" Allison asked.

"That's the easy part," I dug the note from The Commission out of my pocket and held it out, "We find Harold Jenkins."

Allison took the note from me and looked it over with all of her brothers, save for Five, glancing over her shoulder. Meeting my eyes, Diego wrinkled his nose, "Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?"

"I have no idea."

Luther frowned, "How is he connected?"

"Once again, I have no idea."

"Whoever he is, we have three days to find him," Five threw his coffee cup across the room, "Either directly or indirectly, he is responsible for the apocalypse."

Diego glanced up at Five, "There's probably dozens of Harold Jenkins' in the city alone."

"We better start looking, then."

"I'm sorry, how do you know all of this?" Allison's voice was laden heavy with skepticism.

Five leaned against the nearby decorative table and winced slightly. After all of those jumps, I assumed he was tired, but something deep inside made me worry. He was slightly paler than usual and he seemed to be trembling. Noticing I was watching him with a worried expression, he waved me off.

"The message was meant for Hazel and Cha Cha, the corrections agents assigned to stop us," I gestured to Five and me, "From stopping the apocalypse."

"Who?" Allison asked.

"Remember those crazy guys in masks?"

Klaus frowned, "Oh, yeah, I kinda remember them."

"You mean the ones who attacked the academy while Five here," Diego glared at his brother, "Was getting drunk."

I step between Diego and Five, interrupting Diego's hard glare, "Yes, them. They work for an agency called The Temps Commission. We just came from headquarters where I intercepted the message and Five blew up their briefcases so they can't follow us."

"Briefcases?" Luther asked, "Why do they need briefcases?"

"It's their time machine."

"And you blew it up?"

"Technically Five did," I glanced back at my friend, "That will stall them, hopefully long enough for us to stop the apocalypse."

Five nodded ever so slightly. He pushed himself off of the table and did his best to puff out his chest and look strong, but it didn't fool me. After nearly fifty years of friendship, he couldn't fool me if he tried. I could see something was wrong, and it was obvious he was ignoring my worried gazes.

"What does this Temps Commission have to do with the end of the world?" Allison flung the paper around.

"They're our former employer," Five cleared his throat and did his best to keep his voice steady, "They monitor all of time and make sure that whatever is meant to happen, happens. They believe the apocalypse is meant to happen, and they sent Hazel and Cha Cha back to stop us from making sure it doesn't."

"They're the ones who sent out the order to protect Harold Jenkins," I continued, "Which is how we know he must be the one who causes the apocalypse somehow."

For a moment, the three siblings standing in front of us were completely silent. Diego, Allison, and Luther simply stared at us with blank faces but their eyes told the entire story. I could tell a million and one thoughts were going through their minds as they processed everything we just told them.

All at once, they began to ask questions that all blurred together in one long shout. A few words stuck out to me, but most went by in a blur. I pulled my hat down over my eyes as Allison's voice finally won out, "Do you realize how insane this sounds?"

"You know what's insane?" Five spoke through tightly gritted teeth, "I look like a thirteen-year-old boy! Klaus talks to the dead and Luther thinks he's fooling everyone with that overcoat! We're all insane, everything about us is insane and it always has been!"

I jumped to my feet and placed a hand on Five's shoulder. He glanced back at my soft face and exhaled a deep breath. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he began to regulate his breathing as I rubbed his back. From his spot curled up on the couch, Klaus mumbled, "He's got a point."

"Nothing about this is logical," I spoke as Five calmed himself down, "But, sometimes, you gotta throw logic out the window to save the world."

"We didn't choose this life, we're just living in it, and we'll only have three days left to live in it if we don't do something fast," Five spat.

Allison ran a hand across her hair, "How do we know this time will be any different than the last?"

"Because we're here and we have a lead," Five grumbled, "We have a chance to save the entire planet and everyone on it- including Claire."

Allison, who no doubtedly had been contemplating going back to her daughter, suddenly looked up, "You know her name?"

"Yes, and I'd like to live long enough to meet her."

"Five and I being here alone is enough to disrupt the timeline to change," I explained, "That, plus our lead on Harold Jenkins, is enough to give us a real fighting chance. We could actually stop this thing once and for all."

Once again, the family fell into silence. Five and I both stared at them and waited for their response. Deep down, I was terrified they would deny. I was scared they would all go their separate ways and Five and I would be forced to face the end of the world on our own. It was Allison, however, that gave me hope again when she said, "Alright, let's get this bastard."

"You had me at Darrell Jenkins," Diego spoke.

Five rolled his eyes, "Harold."

'Whatever."

"Luther?"

"Yea, you guys go," Luther wrung his hands together, "I'm going to stay here and go through Dad's files. I really think this has something to do with the moon."

I glanced at Diego and Allison, "Does he ever shut up about the moon?"

"Hardly," Diego sighed, "It's the end of the world, and you're making this about your little vacation to the moon?"

"It wasn't a vacation," Luther spat, "It was a mission, and Dad told me to watch for threats. That can't be a coincidence, right?"

I crossed my arms, "I hate to admit it, but the big guy has a point."

"He does?" Diego asked.

Five turned to me, "He does?"

"I do?" Luther muttered before shaking his head, "Of course I do."

"Whatever it is, it comes from the sky. I watched it fall," I glanced between the siblings, "Maybe a bomb or something, I'm not sure. Maybe it's something you could see much better from the surface of the moon."

Luther jerked his thumb to me and grinned, "I like her."

"Good for you," I frowned, "I still don't like you."

Luther looked me up and down, "I thought you were the nice one."

"One hundred ways to kill a man, remember?"

"Clove," Five placed a hand on my shoulder, "Luther, you go check out the moon. Allison, Diego, Klaus, let's go find Harold Jenkins."

Klaus sluggishly brought himself to his feet and stumbled towards us. He was hunched over ever so slightly in a way he hadn't been before. The way he moved was much like he had a stomach ache and a hangover all at once, like his entire body hurt and any little movement made everything worse. I half expected him to pass out, throw up, or both before he even made it to the main door, "Yeah, you guys go. I think-I think I'll just stay here."

"It's the end of the world, Klaus," Five never once took his eyes off of his brother.

Klaus shuffled out of the living room, "Yeah, I-I'll pass. I'm feeling a bit- a bit under the weather."

We all watched him shuffle out of the living room and slowly start bringing himself up the stairs. I wanted to make sure he was alright, but I knew we had more pressing matters to attend to. Luther stepped forward slightly, "This is it, we'll bring the entire force of the academy against this Harold Jenkins."

"More or less," Diego added.

Luther, Diego, Allison, and Five all stepped to where they were in a sort of circle. I stood off to the side with my arms wrapped around myself. It was obvious this was a family moment, it was a moment for The Umbrella Academy. I turned my gaze to the door until someone cleared their throat.

"Come on, Clove, you're in on this too," Diego gestured to me with a smile.

He stepped to the side, allowing me to step between him and Five. Across from me Allison smiled, "You're one of us now, Clove."

"Welcome to the team."

I wasn't sure what was brighter, my smile or my heart. I felt like I lit up like the sun right then and there, I could have started crying if I wasn't trying my best to be strong. They had just told me the one thing I had wanted to hear more than anything in the world; that I was finally a part of something. Even if I wasn't a Hargreeves or a part of The Umbrella Academy, even if I was just a part of the anti-apocalypse team, I was a part of something and that meant the entire world.

Next to me, Five was beaming as well, but he did a good job of hiding it. Even as I was accepted into the team, even just a temporary team, I couldn't stop the demons lurking in every corner of my mind. The Handler had gotten under my skin despite all of my efforts to block her out. In the back of my mind, a voice whispered, telling me it wouldn't last forever. They'd leave me too, just as everyone else had. I'd be left behind once again. Abandoned and forgotten just like before.

I tried to shake it off, plastering on a smile as Five nodded, "Let's go stop the apocalypse."


	22. 100 Times A Therapist Was Needed

We took the Hargreeves' family car as it was the most easily accessible. Before Allison or I could even say a word, Five nabbed the front seat. He didn't even glance at us, he simply kept his eyes forward as he shut the door. That alone made me furrow my eyebrows as Allison rolled her eyes and scoffed.

Once again, I wasn't sure if we'd be alive to stop the apocalypse after being in a car with Diego. He drove like he didn't so much care if we made it to our destination in one piece, just that we made it. Clutching to the back of Five's seat, I began to wonder if it was a Hargreeves family trait to be a terrible driver.

"So, how do we find this bastard?" Allison was also gripping the seat with one hand and the handle above the door with her other hand.

I was practically hugging the seat, "We could try a phone book."

Allison stared at me as Diego chuckled, "That's funny, Clove, but this is serious."

"I am serious."

"Wait," Diego glanced at me through the rearview mirror, "Really?"

I shifted my gaze between him and Allison, "What's so bad about a phone book?"

"Clove, phone books don't exist anymore," Allison spoke softly.

"Then, how do you get someone's number?"

"Google mostly," Diego took a sharp turn.

"Now you're just talking nonsense."

Allison stared at me before turning to face Five, "Are you sure you two are from the future?"

"An apocalyptic future, remember?" Five's voice was strained, "There wasn't much left in the way of technology."

The way his voice strained and caught on itself made me worry even more. I gently leaned forward on the seat to where I was closer to him. From there, I could easily see his pale face and the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He had his arms wrapped around his middle in a way quite uncharacteristic of him. Five wasn't afraid of anything, at least he didn't let on that he was, and he sat like it. More often than not, his arms and legs were both spread out in all directions as if daring someone to attack him, he knew he'd get the first shot in anyways.

"Hey," I kept my voice gentle and soft as I smiled at him, "Are you alright?"

He moved one of his arms just long enough to wave me off, but it quickly returned to its spot around his middle, "Fine. We need to focus, we've only got three days left."

"Those three days won't mean anything if you're out of commission."

"I'm fine, Clove," Five snapped, "Focus on the mission."

This entire time, Diego and Allison had been arguing over where to go. Allison said the library while Diego had other plans, though he refused to tell us what they were.

Slowly, I leaned back in my seat, my eyes never once leaving Five. He could try to hide all he wanted but he couldn't hide anything from me. I knew what every body movement and tone of voice meant. After so long together, and so long alone, I ought to know. Perhaps he could hide himself from the rest of the world, but he couldn't hide from me.

A hard lump of worry grew deep in the pit of my stomach. This was not the first time Five hid something from me, especially if it was an injury. There had been plenty of times he hid a bullet hole, a stab wound, or even an infection from me. That was who Five was. When he was injured, he did his best to hide it. This wasn't the first time he had hidden something from me but it was the first time since my little chat with The Handler.

As hard as I tried to keep her words out of my head, she tried even harder to keep them in. Every time Five wouldn't look me in the eyes, or he brushed me off when he was so clearly injured, made me worry we were finally coming to an end. The more sensible part of me said that couldn't be. Five was my best friend and, though he had a hard time showing it, I knew I was his. I couldn't let The Handler ruin that, but her words so easily got under my skin. The closer we got to the apocalypse, the more I overthought every single interaction Five and I had. 

I could tell something was wrong. As Diego took a sharp turn, Five didn't even move to stop himself from falling against the door. He kept his gaze out the front window with a frown much deeper than he normally had.

Diego only stopped when we came upon a dull brick building. People in uniform filed in and out, all talking amongst themselves and never once sparing a glance at the odd car that just parked across the street. Leaning on the front seat, Allison frowned, "Why are we at the police station?"

"This Harold Jenkins is going to cause the end of the world, right?" Diego shifted the car into park, "I figure he must have a criminal record."

He pulled out his phone and began to type as Five unbuckled his seatbelt, "Alright, I'll blink in, get his file, and get out."

"Oh, no you won't," Diego put a hand on Five's shoulder and pushed him back in the chair.

"Diego, it'll take me ten seconds."

"You don't know the ins and outs of this place like I do," Diego hit a button on his phone and tucked it back into his pocket, "I've got friends on the inside."

I smirked, "Alright, Mister Wanna-Be-Cop."

"Clove, we've been over this, I'm not a wanna be cop, I'm a hero."

"A hero?" Allison snorted, "And here I thought you were the only one Dad didn't mess up."

Diego pointed at her, "This has nothing to do with Dad."

"Apparently, everything has to do with Dad," Five sighed, "This is ridiculous, Diego, we're running out of time."

Diego popped open the door and slammed it behind him after he stepped out. Leaning through the open window, he shot a cocky smile at his older-younger brother, "We've got time for this."

Without giving anyone else time to interject, Diego made his way across the street. He walked as if he belonged there, but his leather outfit made him stick out like a sore thumb. We watched him vanish into a back alley.

"How is he Number Two?" Five muttered.

Allison sighed, "We don't use the numbers anymore, Five."

"Careful, you'll give him an identity crisis," I turned to Five expecting him to roll his eyes at me like he always did, but it didn't even seem like he heard me.

That only made me worry more. Perhaps he wasn't one to join in the teasing or the jokes, but he would always react. Comments like that one always earned an eye roll or a glare, sometimes even the tiniest smile. His lack of reaction only made my worry deepen to the point where I was sure it was written across my face.

"There's a payphone," Allison was staring down the street, "I'm going to call Vanya."

Five sighed, "Allison-"

"We're just sitting here, Five," Allison interrupted, "She's our sister, and I said some pretty unkind things to her the last time I saw her. I'm going to call her."

Once again, another sibling stepped out of the car without giving us time to argue. We watched Allison hurry to the payphone half a block away. Five and I were the only ones left in the car, and that's exactly what I wanted. Perhaps, without any of his siblings nearby, I could get him to tell me what was wrong.

"Five-" I began.

"I'm fine, Clove," Five interrupted me before I could say much more, "We're running out of time, we need to focus."

Following in Allison and Diego's footsteps, Five jumped out of the car, leaving no room for arguments. He slammed the door behind him, making me wince slightly. I watched as he hurried to the payphone where Allison was dialing.

"Please let me help," I muttered as I crawled out of the car.

I hurried to meet Allison and Five at the payphone. Five was leaning against the wall, and I was quick to join him. He gave me a side-glance as if expecting me to bring up how he was so obviously not okay again. Instead, I said nothing, simply smiling at him and acting as if nothing was wrong.

One thing I learned in our many years together was that Five was the most stubborn person on the face of the planet. He could go on and on all day about how stubborn the rest of his family was, but he was the reigning champ. Nothing could break through to him, not even I could sometimes. If he wanted to hide what was wrong, he would hide it until I found out some other way. The only way to get through to him in times like this was to wait it out.

"You know, I could ask you the same question," Five watched Allison trying to get in touch with Vanya.

My eyes followed a woman walking her small terrier dog, "What?"

"What's wrong?" Five finally glanced at me, "You're not yourself. You're- darker, somehow."

I met his eyes and frowned, "Five, you're the most stubborn person I know. After nearly fifty years together, I guess it rubbed off on me."

"You're funny," Five gave me the tiniest smile, "I'm glad that doesn't change."

He looked away before he could see my smile. Allison finally hung up the phone and sighed, resting her arms on top of the phone and turning her eyes to the sky. She made sure not to look at us, I don't think she wanted us to see her in a moment of weakness. To me, emotions weren't weak, they are what makes us strong.

Diego suddenly rounded the corner with a dull red file in his hand. Without hesitation, Five pushed himself off of the wall and took a single step towards Diego. As he went for the file, I was focused on how he kept his arms wrapped around his body.

"So?" Five reached for the file but Diego held it away from him.

Diego smirked, "You're welcome."

Allison snatched the file away from Diego and flipped it open. For barely half a second, Diego pouted, earning a snort from me. He shot me a glare as Allison gasped, "Holy shit."

"What?" all three of us spoke at once.

"Harold Jenkins," Allison spun the file around, "Is Leonard Peabody."

Diego's eyes widened as Five and I stared at the photo. The man in the photo was about as bland as both names he apparently had. It was a mug shot, and you couldn't see the bright orange jumpsuit all prisoners were made to wear. There were cuts all over his face and his left eye was swollen.

Even if it was just a photo, I felt uncomfortable. It felt like he was watching me even if I had no idea who he was. My skin crawled, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt the sudden instinct to make a shield. This man gave off negative vibes right and left, and we were only looking at a photo.

"Leonard Peabody?" I crossed my arms, "Who the hell is that?"

Allison closed the file and tucked it under her arm, "Vanya's boyfriend."

"Vanya has a boyfriend?"

"And apparently he's a homicidal maniac."

"He killed his father when he was a kid," Diego took the file from Allison and started reading it, "Says here he got twelve years and was only let out a few years ago."

Five pushed his hair back, "How are we going to find this guy if Vanya isn't answering?"

"There's no address listed," Diego flipped through the file, "No numbers, no relations, nothing."

"Diego, give me the keys," Allison suddenly jutted out her hand.

Diego glanced up at his sister, "Why?"

"I know where he lives," Allison wiggled her fingers, "And I'm going to take us there to look for clues about how Vanya's boyfriend causes the apocalypse."

"How do you know where he lives?"

"It's a long story, we don't have time for that."

Five and I exchanged glances as Diego reluctantly handed Allison the keys. We all rushed to the car as if the fate of the world depended on it. Once again, Five got shotgun before I could even say anything. I slid into the back next to Diego as Allison took off from the curb.

As it turns out, being a bad driver was not in the Hargreeves family, it was just a trait among the three Hargreeves brothers I had ever ridden with. Allison drove like a seasoned professional. She stopped at every light, to every curve gracefully, and never came to a jerking stop despite our urgent time limit. It didn't even seem like that long until we rolled up to Harold Jenkins' house.

The house was unassuming, just another ed bricked building in a suburb filled with identical buildings. It wasn't the sort of house you would expect a homicidal maniac to live in. The garden was well taken care of and I could tell it was watered and weeded every day. Through the windows, I could see white lace curtains without a bit of yellowing. Even the driveway, standing empty, was perfectly swept and cleaned.

"Wouldn't expect a serial killer to live in a place like this," I muttered as we approached the steps.

Five took each step gingerly, "It's always the unassuming ones."

"Be careful up there," Allison's voice was soft, "We don't know what Peabody is capable of."

I shrugged, "Changing his name for one."

"And killing his father," Five adds, "He isn't a threat."

"He's a murderer, Five," Allison argued.

Diego shook his head, "He isn't dangerous, he's too scrawny."

"You don't have to be buff to be a serial killer or mass murderer," Allison shrugged, "Look at them."

She jerked her thumb to both Five and I. Five didn't even acknowledge her, just muttering a quick, "Thanks."

"I'm not sure that was a compliment," I added as I jumped onto the pavement leading up to the deck.

"Either way, he isn't a threat," Five pushed back his hair in an effort to hide the fact that he was actually wiping sweat from his forehead, "We've killed more dangerous people for less."

"We have, but what about the kids?" I jerked my thumb to Allison and Diego.

Diego glared at me, "You're thirteen."

"How many times do we have to go over this?"

None of us noticed when Allison vanished along the side. Diego, Five, and I climbed up the steps to the dark red door. It was mostly a window, with a thin lattice making crosses on our side of the glass.

"Any idea what this guy wants with Vanya?" Diego asked the empty space where his sister once resided.

"No idea," Five lugged himself up the staircase, "Why don't we ask him after we kill him?"

I took the steps two at a time, "Don't we need Klaus for that?"

"We can ask him later," Five glanced in the window, "Besides, if he wants to harm Vanya, he won't have the chance once he's dead."

Diego looked like he wanted to argue, but I shrugged, "Makes sense to me, let's get him."

"With any luck, we won't have to kill anyone," Diego looked the door up and down as if sizing up his opponent, "Look, I'm going to burst through the door. You two keep a lookout."

Five stared at his brother as if that was the stupidest thing he had ever said. Without a single word, Five grabbed my wrist and warped us both inside. We suddenly appeared in a dark hall where Five released my wrist.

"Took you long enough," Allison smirked as she walked up next to us.

I shrugged, "Blame Diego, he was the one going off on his heroic speech."

As if on cue, the window on the door shattered and the wood splintered. Diego came flying through the door in a perfect ball. He landed flat on his face, something which I really had to struggle to keep from laughing about.

"You know the door was open, right?" Five gently pulled open what remained of the door.

Diego jumped to his feet and shook off any remaining glass, "Whatever. We should split up, yell if- you know- you get in trouble."

"Who died and made him leader?" I crossed my arms and huffed, "Shouldn't it be by seniority?"

Allison rolled his eyes, "It's because he's 'Number Two'."

"I don't care about the numbers, Allison!" Diego called as he vanished into the living room.

"Enough of this, we're wasting time," Five began to make his way towards the kitchen, "Start searching."

Allison vanished upstairs as I looked around the hall. It seemed unassuming, but that was just what made it suspicious. The floors were supernaturally clean and none of the photos on the wall had any dust. Not even the fake flowers in the vase on the entry table captured any dust.

I took a step closer in order to get a better look at the photos. They all seemed to be of an old man and a little boy, perhaps a father and his son. I assumed it was Harold Jenkins and his father. Given how often the boys seemed to have bruises, most often on his cheek and eyes, I could guess why Harold Jenkins suddenly snapped and killed his father. Years of abuse can make even the strongest finally break. In every single one of the photos, his dad would have his arm wrapped around little Harold, and Harold looked like he would rather be literally anywhere else in the world.

As I stood at the photographs, I felt a slightly cold draft hit the backs of my heels. It seemed to be coming straight from the wall under the stairs. Spinning around, I saw the small outline of a door with a latch hidden in the paneling. You wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it.

I crouched at the door and gently pulled at the latch. The door swung open with a creak and a groan making me wonder how long it had been since it had been opened. As soon as I opened the door, I was hit with a blast of cool air and something that smelled terrible. I had to cover my mouth to stop from retching. It reminded me a bit of the apocalypse right after it was done. For an entire year, it seemed like the entire world had the same putrid stench. It had been so long since I smelled the stench of death that I had lost all immunity to it, I nearly threw up right then and there.

Using my hat to cover my nose and mouth, I began to descend into the dark basement. Not a single light was lit, and, when I tried to flip the light, all I got were lousy sparking sounds telling me there were no bulbs. There must have been a leak somewhere because I instantly stepped into a tiny puddle of water. The further I went down into the dark basement, the stronger the scent became.

I could hear the steady dripping of water as I made my way deeper into the basement. It was like torture, it seemed like the longer I was down there, the louder it became. The only light came from the door I had left cracked open, and that only did so much. I was essentially walking blind. 

My foot hit something loose and I nearly tripped. Crouching down, I searched for the item until my hands wrapped around something made of leather. Bringing it closer, I could see it was a woman's high heel. The white shoe was small and seemed to be well worn in from the cracks and dents in the sole. Even the heel was chipped.

"Vanya doesn't wear high heels," I tilted my head, "Does she?"

It seemed odd to me to find a high heel in a house owned by a man. Vanya didn't seem like the high-heeled person either, so how did he get this shoe? My only thought is that it must have been his mother's, but that didn't make much sense as to why it was alone in the basement. Just as I stood up and was about to shout for Five, Allison's voice called, "Guys, you need to come see this!"

It was clearly coming from the attic. It sounded like she was as far up as I was down. Deeming the shoe a dead-end, I dropped it back into the puddle and began to hurry up the stairs.

I arrived just shortly after Diego and Five. Allison was already in the attic, her hands covering her face as she surveyed the grizzly scene before us. Even Five and Diego were absolutely silent as they gazed at all the items littering the attic.

The entire place looked much like a murder scene where the victim was an innocent childhood. It was obvious that Harold Jenkins had once been obsessed with The Umbrella Academy, but somehow, that obsession turned to disdain. All across the walls, magazine clippings and photographs of The Umbrella Academy members as children were taped up much like wallpaper. In each, their faces were scratched out. Even on the lunchboxes, black tape covered the faces of each individual member.

Perhaps the most grizzly of all were The Umbrella Academy action figures. Each one had a head much like molten lava, dripping down and destroying all sense of humanity. All six children's faces were burned, but the Reginald Hargreeves' figurine was perfectly intact.

"All of our faces are burned off," Allison stared at her figurine in particular.

I gently picked up the figurine of their father, "All except for Reginald Hargreeves."

"So, what? He liked Dad but not us?" Diego asked.

"I don't know," Allison muttered, "But, I don't think this was ever about Vanya. I think this is about us."

I glanced over at her, "A vendetta perhaps?"

"But, for what?"

As soon as I glanced at Allison, my eyes went straight past her to Five. He had suddenly lost focus. His eyes were gazing off at something we couldn't see despite the attention demanding scene before him. For a moment, I watched him sway on his feet. He looked at his stomach before glancing up at me. Before he even started falling backwards, I was at his side, "Five!"

I caught him as he started falling backwards. Hooking my arms underneath his shoulders, I slowed his descent. We both ended up hitting the ground, but I protected his head from slamming against the wood.

"Five!" Allison shouted as she and Diego fell at either side of him, "What happened?"

I kept a tight grip on my friend as he groaned. Sweat started pooling on his forehead as he got even paler. I didn't peel my eyes away from his pale face as I said, "Check his stomach."

"There's blood on his vest," Allison spoke as she pulled away his blazer and pulled up his shirt ever so slightly, "Oh my God."

I risked a glance and immediately regretted it. There, making a fair sized hole in his stomach, was a huge chunk of glass. He had already lost a substantial amount of blood and it was obvious the glass was poisoning him.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Diego demanded.

Five groaned, "So close, had to keep going."

Allison jumped to her feet, "He's losing blood, we have to get him to the academy."

"You get his feet," Diego jumped up as well, "I'll get his top."

"I'll handle the blood," I added.

They didn't stop to question me. Five moaned loudly as Diego and Allison propped him between them. Once he was balanced between them, I stepped up to his side and raised a hand. Taking a deep breath, I felt the electricity make my fingers tingle as I summoned a shield to put pressure on Five's wound. He moaned in pain, but it kept the blood in.

"How did this happen?" Diego demanded as we hurried down the stairs and out the broken door.

"I don't know," half of my mind was focused on the shield, the other half on answering Diego, making my shield flicker, "Can't talk, too focused."

The smaller the shield, the more focus it took. Big shields took more energy but little shields took more focus. It took a lot to maintain enough energy in such a tiny area without it exploding into something bigger. When that area was a wound, it took even more energy to keep all of the blood where it's supposed to be.

I climbed in the backseat first. Diego and Allison slid Five in after me, and I pulled him the rest of the way. Propping his head on my lap, I kept my focus on his wound. Diego took off barreling towards the academy, but I was much too focused to fear for my life.

"Clove," Five mumbled.

I didn't move my eyes from my shield, "I'm here, Five, I'm here."

"Grenade," Five mumbled, "Commission."

My eyes jerked up to him for half a second before returning to his wound. My mind flashed back to our fight with The Commission. From the moment The Handler started shooting on, we were in the direct line of fire for bullets and debris. Whenever Five exploded the briefcase room, glass went everywhere, it was a wonder I wasn't impaled. I mentally criticized myself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want you to worry," Five was slowly losing consciousness, "All we've been working for. Promise."

His words started slurring together and making about as much sense as any drunken haze, but they made sense to me. For our entire lives, this is what we had worked to. Everything had been stopping the apocalypse, and now we were so close. Both of us were on edge.

"You should've told me," I whispered, "You could've died."

"Wasn't worried," Five offered a weak smile, "Lucky Clover."

He reached up for my shoulder but never made it. Before his hand could fall back and hit his abdomen, I caught it in my hand and tightly gripped it. Resting both of our hands on his chest, I smiled, "Lucky Clover."

"Promise."

Five had lost consciousness at that point. I did my best to hide the tears slowly welling in my eyes. For our entire lives, we had been promising each other that we were going to get through this. Together. Through all of it, we'd be together. Now he could be dying and I felt like crying.

Diego pulled up to The Academy and both he and Allison were out of the car before it was even in park. I helped them gently wiggle Five out. Once they had him in the same position as earlier, they began to head into the Academy. I stayed at Five's side the entire time, my entire focus put into the shield keeping him from bleeding out.

Diego and Allison laid Five down on the couch in the living room. As soon as he was down, Allison gazed at his wound and frowned, "What do we do?"

"I don't know, I-" Diego stopped mid sentence.

Without a single word to us, he went straight for the entry hall. Allison flung her hands up, "Diego!"

"We better think of something," I could barely get a grunt through my focus, "I can't hold this much longer."

Time was a confusing thing, and I couldn't quite say the last time I had slept. It had been long before going to The Commission. As I thought of it, I realized I legitimately couldn't remember if I had slept at all since arriving in 2019. With such a lack of sleep, my shield would only last so long and I could already feel it getting weaker.

Diego returned with Grace Hargreeves close at his heel. As soon as she laid eyes on her mother, Allison gasped, "Mom? You're alive?"

"Allison, Diego, get your brother into his room," Grace never stopped her trek towards another hall, "I'll get my equipment. We must hurry."

Despite being in shock, Allison and Diego obliged. They lifted Five just as they have been since he fainted the first time. Once again, I walked along the side, keeping my focus on the shield.

They laid Five in his bed where Grace was already waiting. As soon as he was down, Grace began to work on him. She sat next to him and glanced up at me, "You can let go now, dear."

As soon as I let go, it was my turn to fall over. I nearly hit the ground, but Diego caught me under my arms, "Not you too."

My head lulled from side to side as Diego sat me in the nearby chair. I leaned back in the chair and let my head fall back. Across the room, Dolores was propped up against the wall and I smiled, "Hi Dolores."

Allison followed my gaze before turning back to me, "Clove, are you okay?"

"Fine, fine," I waved her off.

"When's the last time you slept?"

"It's funny, actually, I don't remember."

"You need to sleep, Clove," Diego's voice was monotone and slightly harsh.

I glanced up at him, "there's no time, we don't even have three full days left."

All of us instinctively glanced at Five. He was fully unconscious as Grace stitched him up, which I suppose is a good thing to keep him from feeling the pain. As I gazed at him, I knew I couldn't leave him. Apocalypse or no apocalypse, he was my friend and I wasn't going to leave him alone. 

"We have to get to Harold Jenkins before he can cause the apocalypse," I glanced up at Diego and Allison, "You have to go after him."

Allison rubbed her arms, "I don't know, Five's lying unconscious and injured."

"Don't worry about Five, I'll stay with him and make sure he's alright," I leaned forward, ignoring how light headed I got, "We have two days left and we don't have a moment to spare. You two go, find Vanya and Harold, we'll catch up with you as soon as we can."

Allison looked nervous, but Diego gently grabbed her arm and nodded. Sucking in a deep breath, she glanced at me, "Will you be alright?"

"I will," I smiled at her before glancing at Five, "I can't leave him. We've been through so much together, I can't leave him to go through this alone."

Allison nodded before hurrying out. After giving me one last clap on the shoulder, Diego followed suit. I watched them go, all the while hoping with all that I had that they would make it to Harold Jenkins before he could start the apocalypse.

"There," Grace stood and took off her gloves, "He's all fixed up."

I slowly stood, ignoring how light headed I got, "He'll be alright?"

"Just fine," Grace placed a hand on my shoulder, "He just needs rest."

"Thank you."

"You need rest too, Clove dear."

I glanced up at her kind smile. I had never seen a mother's smile before, nor felt a mother's compassion. Something in the way she just was made me want to listen to everything she said. I felt the comfort of a mother and all I could do was nod as I climbed into the bed next to Five. Grace retrieved two extra blankets, one for me and one for Five, and laid them on top of us.

"Get some rest," Grace smiled, "I'll be right outside if you need me."

"Thank you, Grace," I gave her a similar smile.

She nodded before hurrying out of the room. Pulling the blanket to my chest, I glanced down at the unconscious Five and frowned, "Please wake up soon."

He only groaned in response, turning his head toward me and wincing ever so slightly. I pulled the blanket higher over his body before pressing myself against the headboard. Curling my legs into myself, I was asleep before I even realized I was tired.


	23. I Care About You, You Idiot

I woke up in the apocalypse. The warmth and life, as repressed as it might be, of the Hargreeves mansion had suddenly vanished and been replaced with the barren wasteland I grew up in. As soon as my eyes opened, I could sense the lack of life around me. The entire world was empty, and I could feel that haunting emptiness crushing down on me.

My eyes flickered open and I caught the sight of a gray sky. Ash was falling like rain, just as it had been all those years ago. My skin used to always be ashy and scratchy, but I couldn't feel it. Even as the ground I laid on had a fine coat of ash, I felt nothing.

Panic filled my veins as I realized I was back in the apocalypse. Everything I had ever feared came rushing back to me, stalling my breathing and hastening my heartbeats. I jumped up just as a wind blew through, but I never felt it. I could hear the rocks crunching under my boots, but my feet never left a print.

"Five?!" I shouted as I surveyed my surroundings.

Once again, I was back in the decimated library. The center spiral no longer went above a single floor, and even that threatened to crumble. Our little home was still there complete with small cots and Umbrella Academy merchandise. I could even see Vanya's book sticking out from one of the lunchboxes. Five's equations were still scrawled on every inch of the walls, but there was no sign of the person that made them.

"Five?!" I crawled on top of a rock to get a better view, "Five, where are you?!"

My voice echoed through the obsolete emptiness of the entire world. Usually, I could feel another life. You never quite know how deeply you can sense the lives of other human beings until they are all gone. In the apocalypse, I could sense Five was there, I could feel he was alive and there with me even if we were on opposite ends of the city. Now, I felt nothing but foreboding emptiness.

"No," I clamored over the rock and desperately searched the horizon for signs of life, "No, please, not again. Please, please."

Tears began to make rivers down my face, but I could never feel them. What should be hot tears felt distant and morphed, like I was watching a character cry in a movie. Even as they made their way between my lips, I couldn't taste their saltiness. It was almost as if I didn't exist at all.

I tripped over a rock and landed flat on my face. My nose began to bleed, but I easily wiped it away. Moving to a sitting position, I buried my face in my knees and shuddered through sobs.

"I don't wanna be alone," my voice was barely a cracked whisper, "Please, I don't wanna be alone."

"Clove."

I flung my head up and looked around, "Five?!"

"Clove, wake up."

"Five!"

"Wake up!"

My eyes flung open and I jumped up. All at once, my breathing returned and quickened while my heart sped up a thousand times over. I could feel my blood turn to molten lava as panic spread through my body.

Five was standing above me and quickly backed up. It took me a moment to register where I was and how I got there. I saw the chalkboard wallpaper filled with long forgotten equations and the books lining the desk. Beneath me, I could feel the spring mattress and I could feel the wool blanket I was wrapped in. My own breath was hot in my lungs, warming me from the inside out.

The events of the day before came rushing back to me. I remembered arriving in 2019 all the way to Grace stitching Five's wound. I remembered where I was and how I got there, and only then did I finally relax my shoulders.

"You were crying in your sleep," Five gently sat next to me on the bed.

I wiped my wet cheeks and cleared my throat, "'m sorry."

"Don't be," Five tilted his head slightly so I could see his worried expression, "What happened?"

I tugged my knees closer to my chest and buried my mouth in the blanket, "I was back."

"In the apocalypse?"

"And I was alone."

I felt Five's warm hands cover my own as I tried to keep from crying some more. I looked up at him with my wet eyes and was met with a gentle face and even gentler smile. Only in the quiet moments did he ever show his gentle side, and I treasured these moments. His tough exterior melted away, leaving a kind hearted, gentle person who cared deeply and strongly.

"Clove, you're never alone," he squeezed my hands gently, "And you never will be alone. We're stuck together, we promised, remember?"

All of the times we promised we'd stick with each other echoed through my mind. That was when I finally broke. All of the pent up fears and pain that had been building since my lunch with The Handler came pouring out. Tears started pouring down my face as my breath hitched in my burning throat. Five's eyes widened as I buried my face in the blankets.

"Clove?" Five scooted to where he was sitting in front of me, "Clove, what's wrong?"

"I don't wanna lose you."

"Clove, you aren't going to lose me," I felt Five wrap his arms around my shoulders.

His excessive use of my name grounded me, which I assumed was his intent. Hearing a familiar voice use the name that was mine and mine alone reminded me what was real and what wasn't. It was a tactic we had used countless times throughout our days in the apocalypse and our days as assassins.

I fell into his embrace, wrapping my arms around him too. He held onto me without caring if my tears stained his baby blue satin pajamas. His gentle squeezes made me cry even harder.

"Is this because I didn't tell you about my wound?" Five's voice was soft enough to where only the two of us could hear.

"No, but don't think I'm letting that go," I wiped my eyes as Five offered a weak chuckle, "Once we stop the apocalypse, we'll still be friends, right?"

Five didn't even hesitate, "Of course we'll still be friends."

"We aren't just friends because we were the last two people on Earth?"

"Of course not. Clove," Five pulled me away just enough so he could look me in the eye, "Our friendship is important to me- you're important to me and I'm not letting that go so easily."

My body began to shake ever so slightly as I gripped his arms, "You're my dearest friend, Five, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know what I'd do without you either," Five spoke as I fell back into his embrace, "Where is this coming from?"

"It's irrelevant."

"If it's got you this upset, I don't think it's irrelevant."

I paused for a moment. Glancing up at him, I sniffled, "I had lunch with The Handler while we were at The Commission."

"How interesting, I had lunch with her too," Five's grip suddenly tightened, "What did she do to you?"

"I knew she was lying, I tried not to listen, but it was-it was hard."

"She's very convincing," Five's grip didn't loosen, "What did she do, Clove?"

I wiped my eyes, my head still buried in his embrace, "She said that I could never have a family here- that I couldn't have a family with you. She said that our relationship was built around the apocalypse, and, once that was gone, you would leave me just like everybody else has."

I felt guilty saying it out loud. Five had never done anything to make me doubt our friendship, but those demons would always lurk deep inside me. When you've been traumatized, that doesn't go away. You could be in the healthiest, strongest, most faithful, loving friendship ever and still be terrified they would abandon you because the last time was so traumatizing. Everyone I ever cared about left me, and that sort of thing leaves a lasting impression.

"I'm going to kill her," Five muttered under his breath, "Clove, listen to me, she's lying. She was purposefully trying to separate us and turn us on each other."

I covered my eyes with my hands and sniffled, "I know, I know, but-"

"It's hard not to listen, I know. Believe me I do," Five sighed before squeezing me tightly, "She's lying, Clove. She's a master manipulator, it's what she does."

I was silent, the only sounds being my sniffles. Five gently pulled me away enough to look me in the eyes, "Clove, you're one of the most important people in my life and I promise you our friendship goes beyond the apocalypse. When we stop it, and we will stop it, I'm not going to abandon you. No matter what timeline, apocalypse or no apocalypse, you will always be my friend."

I glanced up at him, the air from the nearby vent making my wet cheeks cold, "Promise?"

"Promise," Five smiled, "We're stuck together, and that's never going to change."

He pulled me back into a hug I gratefully accepted. Squeezing his middle, I spoke into his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I never should've doubted you," I mumbled, "I don't think I ever did. You've done more than enough to show me our friendship means something beyond the apocalypse."

"It's not your fault, The Handler knows just how to stab you right where it hurts," Five responded, "She told me the same thing when we had our lunch, at least, something similar. She was trying to divide and conquer, I know it. That's why I didn't tell you I got hurt."

He said the last part quietly. Wiping my eyes, I glanced up at him, never once breaking our hug, "What did she tell you?"

"That I can't save everyone," Five stared at the wall the entire time he spoke, "She said I'd lose everything that ever mattered to me, and that I'd lose you and my family first."

Without hesitation, I moved my hands to gently grab his face and make him look at me, "She's lying, Five. If anyone can save the world, it's you, and you aren't doing it alone. You won't lose me and you won't lose your family. We're in this together, and we'll be in this together until the bitter end."

Five smiled slightly. I could see his eyes shining, but, rather than let me see him cry even the tiniest bit, he pulled me back into his embrace. For a moment we sat there, our faces buried in each other's shoulders and our arms wrapped tightly around each other as if we were absolutely terrified to lose the most important person in our life.

Perhaps our friendship had started from being the last two people on Earth, but it evolved into something so much more. We were no longer the last people left, but our friendship remained strong and our connection even stronger. No matter how many people were surrounding us, Five would always be my dearest friend, and nothing The Handler said could change that.

The Handler was a master manipulator, and as much as I knew that, it was difficult to protect myself against her manipulation. Everybody had a weak spot, and that just so happened to be mine. It seemed like even Five, who was the strongest of us all, fell victim to her manipulations.

"Thank you," I mumbled into his shoulder.

Five squeezed me before we separated, "We never speak of this outside of this room."

"It's our secret."

Five gave me one last smile before pulling himself out of bed. I watched as he moved to the closet and began rifling through his clothes, all of which looked exactly alike. The entire time, he was favoring his right side. His wound was still fresh, and the stitches even fresher. As he pulled out one of his uniforms, I tilted my head, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Five started examining his clothes, "Getting ready to stop the apocalypse."

I crossed my arms, "Five, you're injured."

"We only have two days left, Clove."

"And those two days will mean nothing if you reopen your wound."

"We don't have time for this," Five vanished and quickly reappeared in his new clothes, "And I don't have time to rest."

I stood and glared at him, "I just had an entire breakdown about losing you, did that mean nothing?"

"You're not going to lose me, Clove," Five glanced up at me, "I'm not going to leave you and I'm not going to die."

"You have a hole in your stomach."

"I shot Franz Ferdinand with two bullet wounds in my back."

For a moment, I hesitated. Five grinned up at me as I frowned, "Alright, you got me there, but I was just as upset about it then as I am now!"

"You didn't stop me then and you won't stop me now," he stood straight and shoved his hands in his pockets, "Come on, Clove, let's go save the world. Together."

"Together," I smiled as we stepped out of the room, "But, if you reopen your wound, I will never let it go."

"I expect nothing less."

We stepped out into the hall together. As Five turned to shut the door to his room, my ears caught the sound of a bell. A door slammed followed by a familiar laugh. Klaus' laugh was unlike any I had ever heard before. It always held a hint of sadness in it, as if nothing could ever be funny enough to earn a real laugh, the broken parts would always be there.

He came around the corner and paused when he saw us, flinging his hands up and laughing. His outfit was quite unlike anything I had ever seen before. The green army vest clashed terribly with the tie-dye shirt he wore underneath, but he pulled it off like royal garments. His pants were laced all the way to the top, it was a wonder the draft didn't make him cold.

"Fivey! Just the brother I wanted to see," Klaus held the bell over his shoulder, "Emergency family meeting, in the kitchen. Like right now."

Five crossed his arms, "Can't this wait? The world is ending."

"No- no it can't wait, this is important."

"Fine," Five pushed his hand through his hair, "At least I can get a cup of coffee."

He began to march down the hallway towards the kitchen. I stayed behind. It was a family meeting, and I figured I would wait in the living room just as I had during the funeral. To my surprise Klaus, who was just about to follow Five down the halls, paused and turned to me, "What're you doing just standing there? Come on, we're gonna need that Lucky Clover of yours."

Klaus turned too quickly to see my entire face light up. I jumped to follow him, skipping the entire way.

Despite the world supposedly ending in two days, I couldn't be happier. From my heart-to-heart with Five to being invited to a family meeting by Klaus, I felt my heart bursting with joy. Everything I had ever wanted was right there in front of me and I didn't even have to reach out and grab it, it was already there.

Five was already sitting next to Luther when we arrived. Luther had his entire face buried in his hands, and groans echoed through his ape body. Ever since we all found out, he hadn't tried hiding it anymore. He was fully out and without a shirt, letting his ape hair blow in the wind from the fan above.

I took the seat at the head of the table next to Five. Grabbing the back, I spun it around and sat backwards on it, leaning against the backrest. Five glanced at me and rolled his eyes, smiling ever so slightly. I grinned at him as Klaus passed out cups.

He gave each of us a mug and began to pour coffee in it. I always loved the smell of coffee, rich and dark, the warmth filling me up even just by smelling it. The smell might be nice, but not even that could convince me to drink it. Klaus poured each of us a mug, including one at an empty chair. He had already pulled out the chair as if expecting someone to come but nobody ever did.

Before Five could steal Luther's, as he was obviously eyeing it up to do so, I slid him my cup of coffee. He was quick to drink both his and mine, wrinkling his nose when he finished, "Who do I have to kill to get a decent cup of coffee around here?"

"Can we please get started?" Luther grumbled.

He looked like death, or that he was near death. His eyes were so tightly scrunched they were practically closed, and I could tell he just wanted to keel over. Just by looking at him, I could see that every noise hurt and the light alone was enough to make him wince in pain. After dealing with Five was so long, I could identify the classic signs of a hangover.

"Does anybody have any idea where the rest are?" Klaus asked, "Diego? Allison? Anyone?"

I fiddled with the edge of the placemat as I spoke, "They went after Harold Jenkins."

"Alone?" Five nearly spat out his coffee.

"I'm sorry," Luther glanced at me though he never really saw me, "They found him?"

I shrugged, "Sort of. Turns out, Harold Jenkins is Vanya's boyfriend; Leonard Peabody."

"I never trusted that guy."

"We all met him once, we can't really judge a book by its cover," Klaus shrugged.

Five glared at him, "He is responsible for the apocalypse."

"Point taken," Klaus paused, "I suppose this is as close as we're going to get to a family reunion for now."

"Please get started so I can go back to bed," Luther grumbled.

Five and I exchanged glances. Klaus kept nervously hitting his hand with a spatula. Every so often, his face would twitch like he was listening to someone- or something- none of the rest of us could hear. We all waited patiently, or impatiently for Five and Luther, for Klaus to continue.

"There's no real easy way to say this, so I'm just going to spit it out," he hesitated and glanced at the empty chair he pulled out, "Yeah."

"Klaus," Luther demanded.

Klaus swallowed roughly, "I conjured Dad last night."

Five leaned forward ever so slightly as he did when he was at full attentiveness. Luther barely even looked at Klaus, staring up at him through clenched eyes and a dumbfounded expression. Both of them were silent as I tilted my head, "I thought you couldn't conjure people anymore?"

"I couldn't when I was high and drunk," Klaus clapped his hands together, making Luther wince, "But I got sober last night, ta-da!"

"Congrats, Klaus, that's a big achievement."

"Thank you," Klaus' face suddenly went much softer than I thought possible of anyone in this family, "You know, you're the first on to tell me that, everyone else just yells at me."

"Why didn't you get sober sooner?" Luther demanded.

Klaus held up his hands towards his brother, glancing at me with a knowing look. Five rolled his eyes, "Answer the question, Klaus."

Klaus rubbed his hands together, "Getting sober is hard work, alright?"

"Why now?" Luther demanded.

"Well, you see, I wanted to talk to someone special but I ended up finding Dear Old Daddy himself."

"I thought he was too stubborn," I glanced between the three brothers.

"He was, but then I died and I went to-"

"Wait, hang on," Luther raised his hands, "You died?"

Klaus patted Luther's shoulder, "Yes, we're past that now, buddy, keep up. Anyways, I met Dad and he gave me his usual lecture about potential and his disappointment, but then he gave me some interesting information about his murder or lack thereof."

"I'm still stuck on the fact that you died," I muttered.

"Keep up, Lucky Clover, we've got bigger matters to attend to."

"I don't believe this," Luther rubbed his face, "You're telling me you died and talked to Dad?"

"Yes, are you even listening to me?" Klaus asked.

Luther and Five both stared at him dumbfounded. Five gave the tiniest eye roll, just enough for me to catch, and sipped his coffee. Running his hands down his face one last time, Luther stood, "Anybody got an aspirin?"

"Top shelf next to the crackers," Five responded nonchalantly.

"Guys!" Klaus exclaimed, "This is serious!"

Luther raised his hands, "I can't deal with you right now."

"Luther!" I shouted but was quickly ignored, making me turn to Five, "Five!"

"What?"

"Come on!"

"Fine!" Five set his coffee down on the table and glared at me before turning to Klaus, "And what did the old man have to say?"

Klaus hesitated for a moment. He started wringing his hands together like he was wringing out a wet towel. Gulping, he spoke, "Dad told me- well-"

"Spit it out."

"That he killed himself."

The entire room fell silent. Even Luther fell back in his chair and we all pretended not to hear the splintering. All eyes were on Klaus as each one of us lost any ability to communicate. Even I, who had never once met Reginald Hargreeves in my life, was shocked he would do such a thing. It seemed so unbelievable yet so like him to do.

"I don't have time for your games, Klaus," Luther stood back up and grumbled.

Klaus held out a hand, "I'm telling the truth, Luther, I'm telling the truth!"

"Why'd he do it, then?" Five asked.

"To get us all back home," Klaus shrugged, "To bring the Academy back together."

Luther shook his head, "No- no, it's impossible."

It was obvious to everybody but himself that Luther was in denial. Even Five seemed to doubt Klaus ever so slightly. Luther's face suddenly became much darker than usual, and I could practically hear him shutting Klaus out. His murder mystery was suddenly gone and he didn't know what to do about it.

"Maybe not so impossible," Five gingerly sipped his coffee, "You said it yourself, he was depressed. Holed up in his room and office all the time."

"No, he wouldn't just kill himself. Suicidal people exhibit certain tendencies, certain behaviors, we would have known," Luther seemed to be speaking more to himself than anybody else.

I tilted my head and gazed at him, "Those signs tend to go unseen by the people their closest to."

"I would have known."

"You were on the moon for four years."

Luther's face suddenly became even darker than before. He curled his fists, digging his nails into his palms, "Why are you even here?"

"I was invited, thank you."

Luther glared at me before turning his glare to Klaus, "If you're lying-"

"I'm not!" Klaus exclaimed, "I'm not!"

"Master Klaus is correct."

We all turned to the doorway to see Pogo leaning on his walking stick. In all of his stories, Five failed to mention that Pogo was an ape. It was just a minor detail he always seemed to pass by. That was the first time I had ever actually come face-to-face with Pogo and I had to keep myself from gasping.

He was an aging ape with gray hair slowly outnumbering his black hair. He was hunched over and probably would have fallen over if he didn't have his shiny wooden cane to support him. Five always told me that Pogo's suits were never dirty. No matter what he was doing or how much of a mess the children made, Pogo's suits were always perfectly pressed without a single spec of lint on them. That was one of his superpowers, I suppose, guerrilla cleanliness.

"Regretfully, I helped him enact his plan," Pogo spoke, "So did Grace."

Luther hesitated, "W-what?"

"It was a difficult choice, more difficult than you could ever know," Pogo slowly moved further into the room, "Prior to your father's death, Grace's programming was altered so she was incapable of performing first aid on that fateful night."

Five shifted in his seat, "Sick bastard."

"The security tape-" Luther began but couldn't bring himself to finish.

"Furthered the murder mystery," Pogo explained, "To bring you all together, to unify you."

I tilted my head, "But why?"

"Stay out of this, Clove," Luther spat, "Why would he do that?"

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. Five shot me a look that told me to restrain myself, and I did, for his sake. No matter how many times Luther told me he didn't want me around, it didn't matter to me, I knew there was someone who always did.

"Your father wanted to reignite your desire to be a team again," Pogo sighed, "He thought, perhaps, investigating who killed him would give you that desire."

"To what end?" Five asked.

"To save the world, of course, against the apocalypse."

Klaus laughed as I wrinkled my eyebrows. As the others were reeling about the sudden realization of their fathers suicide, I was stuck on the fact that Reginald Hargreeves knew about the apocalypse. How could he possibly know? He couldn't time travel and he was in no way in contact with Five during our time in the apocalypse. Part of me wondered if he was in contact with The Commission, but they never had local contacts like that. It was one of their policies to have zero contact with the outside world.

"First the moon mission, and now this," Luther spoke through barred teeth, "You watched me search for answers and said nothing."

The room itself seemed to be getting hotter. I glanced at Five as he stared at his brother, just waiting for Luther to finally snap. Perhaps that large body came with an even larger temper, because he always seemed to be upset about one thing or another. This particular thing threatened to finally break all the walls he had been building.

"Any other damn secrets you want to share, Pogo?" Luther spit out Pogo's name like the most unholy of curse words.

Klaus raised his hands, "Luther, calm down."

At the same time, Five spoke, "Luther, please-"

"No, I will not calm down," Luther flung his hands through the air in a way that was almost scary, "We've been lied to by the one person in this whole damn house we could trust!"

Pogo turned his eyes to the ground and gripped onto his cane nervously, "It was your father's dying wish, Master Luther. I had no choice."

"Bullshit," Luther began to storm out of the room, "there's always a choice."

Even after Luther was long gone, there was still an air of hostility in the room. It seemed to be electrified and full of water all at the same time to the point where it became difficult to breath. All of the hairs on my body stood straight up and I half expected Luther to come back for round two.

For a moment, the rest of us were silent. Pogo finally left the room though none of us really noticed. I sat with my legs curled beneath me and my hands hidden in my lap, "Are family meetings always like this?"

"It is with this family," Klaus rested his forehead on the table.

"I gotta think," Five ran his hands over his face before standing, "Come on, Clove."

"Where are we-"

Five didn't give me a chance to finish my sentence. He grabbed my wrist and warped us back into his room. I fell onto the bed as he came out walking perfectly fine. Pushing myself up onto my arms, I glared at him, "A little warning next time!"


	24. I Need an Explanation, What Is Going On

All that could be heard was Five's rushed footsteps and mutterings under his breath. As he wore a hole through the carpet from his pacing, I sat on his window sill with my legs stretched up the wall. He kept pacing and muttering almost on beat to the tiny shield I used as a ball bouncing from hand to hand.

"Are you going to keep muttering to yourself, or are you gonna tell me what's on your mind?" I glanced at my friend.

"How the hell did he know?" Five muttered, "My father was many things, a time traveler wasn't one of them."

I didn't even have to ask Five to clarify to know exactly what he meant. Turning my head to the side, I watched him pace, "Maybe he was a space alien?"

"Clove, this is serious."

"Fine, fine," I raised my hands in surrender, "Maybe he was psychic?"

"Impossible, he didn't have powers, that's why he formed the academy."

"Really?"

"Naturally, I assume," Five didn't even hesitate in his pacing, "I had to go to the future to figure out when the world ended, how did he know just in time to kill himself a week and a day before it happens?"

My ball vanished into thin air as I dropped my legs onto the ground. Moving to a sitting position, I leaned on my elbows and gazed at my friend, "Maybe he wasn't sure when it would happen, but he knew how."

"Then why did he kill himself so close to the apocalypse?"

"Lucky timing, I suppose?"

"No, no, it wasn't luck," Five ran a hand through his hair and frowned, "Everything my father ever did was planned, I have no doubt this was too."

"How could he plan to kill himself just in time to get the academy back together to stop whatever brings about doomsday?"

Five groaned, "I don't know, Clove, that's what I'm trying to figure out."

For a moment, Five paused. He stared at a single place on the carpet for long enough to become worrying. I watched him, at first I waited patiently but I slowly started to tap my foot impatiently. Jumping up, I took a few large steps to peer around his shoulder, "Five?"

"He's been telling us our whole lives that we were going to stop the impending apocalypse," Five spun around to face me, "I don't know how he knew, but he did, and the fact remains that his plan worked. We're all together."

Without another word, he spun on his heel and rushed into the hall. I quickly grabbed my hat and hurried after him. I was used to this behavior, when Five got an idea in his mind, nothing could stop him. He would head off without a word, his mind going over every possible outcome.

He took a sharp turn around the hall and I nearly slid into the wall trying to keep up with him. Without even knocking, he barged into Klaus' room to find his brother trying to figure out how to knit, "Get up, we're going."

"Where?" Klaus abandoned his yarn and knitting needles on the bed.

"To save the world."

"Oh, is that all?"

As Klaus began to get dressed, Five continued to pace up and down the room. I leaned against the doorframe with my arms crossed over my chest. My eyes followed Five as he muttered and paced all at once.

"Dad killed himself, right?" Five asked to which Klaus nodded, "It got me thinking, how did the crazy bastard know?"

"Well-" Klaus began.

"Don't answer that, it was purely rhetorical," Five held up a finger to Klaus, "The old man couldn't time travel, I had to time travel to figure it out, so how did he know to kill himself a week before the apocalypse? The fact is, he always knew, he told us from the moment we were born that we were meant to stop this impending apocalypse."

"I always thought he just said it to make us do the dishes," Klaus shrugged.

"Me too!"

I tilted my head, "Did it ever work?"

"Only on Luther," Klaus shrugged, "Allison and Ben would help too, cause they felt bad for him."

Five stopped pacing and glanced at Klaus, "The fact remains, his plan worked, we all ended up here together. We might as well save the world while we're at it."

"We've only got two days left," I pushed myself off the doorframe, "Not even that, really."

"Exactly, so we better hurry," Five began to hurry out of the room while Klaus was still shrugging on his shirt.

Klaus struggled to keep up, fighting with his tangled vest as he did, "What, the three of us?"

"Ideally, no, but I'll work with what I have."

As soon as we made it to the hall, I heard a door slam followed by loud footsteps. It made me wince slightly, earning a glance from Five. Loud noises were never my thing even before a loud noise destroyed the entire world. Since then, it had been even worse, some loud noises sent me into panic attacks or shutdowns.

Diego came barreling through, pulling off his halter and rushing into his room. Five, Klaus, and I didn't hesitate in running after him while Five shouted, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Jail!" Diego shouted back.

"What?!" I peered around the doorframe, "You were supposed to go after Harold Jenkins!"

Diego pulled out a silver box from underneath his childhood bed, "And then I got arrested. I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Where's Allison?"

"She went after Harold."

"Alone?" I flung up my hands, "This guy is a homicidal maniac, Diego!"

Diego strapped a new halter with new knives across his chest. I did have to admit, the outfits he put together did make him look like a comic book superhero. Maybe not Batman or Superman, but a B-grade superhero. Just one glance and you could tell he meant business, and he was going to do it and do it right.

"That's why we have to go after her," Diego tightened his halter, "Where's Luther?"

Klaus shrugged, "Haven't seen him since this morning."

"Was he hungover?" Five glanced up at Klaus.

"Oh, incredibly so."

"Huh," Five stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Didn't know Luther drank."

I tugged at my hair, "Wouldn't his body just metabolize it? Isn't that like his entire thing?"

"Doesn't matter," Diego shoved one last knife in his boot, "We have to get Luther and get moving, Allison could be in danger."

"What are we still doing standing around here, then? Lets go!"

To my surprise, everyone listened. Klaus and Diego began to hurry down the stairs, with Diego taking them two at a time and Klaus nearly falling over himself as he sped down the gothic staircase.

Five had a better idea. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the right, blinking us down to the car. We went from standing at the top of the staircase to appearing next to the car where Five quickly moved around to the driver's seat, "Get in, before they have time to complain."

I slid into the passenger's seat just as Diego and Klaus appeared. Klaus had no problems sliding into the backseat, he even seemed to prefer it. Diego opened the door and glared at me, "Children ride in the back."

"I'm older than you," I glared right back at him, "How many times do we have to go over this?"

"Not physically, you aren't."

"We don't have time for this," Five started the car and glared at his brother, "Diego, get in the back."

"What?!"

"Diego!"

Diego grunted and slammed the door. As he slid into the backseat, I could see his glares and pouts in the rearview mirror. He crossed his arms, not even bothering to buckle up as Five sped out of the alleyway, "She isn't even a member of the family!"

"I think it's favoritism," Klaus nonchalantly shrugged.

"Clearly," Five took a turn, "Both of you be quiet or I'll pull this car over."

I beamed at Five, but he was too concentrated on the road to notice. As he drove, Diego leaned forward on the seat and asked, "How the hell do we find the big guy?"

"Oh, I have an idea," Klaus joined him in leaning on the front seat, "Remember that pub we snuck out to when we were fifteen?"

Diego glanced at Klaus, "The old run down Irish pub?"

"That's the one!"

"Why would he go there?"

"Oh, the big guy is going through something," Klaus pretended to pout, "And what better way to make it better than to drink?"

Five glanced at Klaus in the rearview mirror, "You are a terrible influence, Klaus."

"I wish I could take credit, but the big guy figured it out all by himself."

"Shit," Diego leaned back in his seat, "Those years on the moon really got to him."

Five shrugged, "It's not surprising, even a year alone can drive anyone crazy."

He and I glanced at each other before quickly turning both our attentions back to the road. Klaus began to give directions, but only Five was really listening. The rest of us all had our minds scattered across all of time and space itself.

The Irish Pub looked like it hadn't had a renovation since the 1950s, and it desperately needed one since the 1970s. It reeked of body odor and mothballs, not that the mothballs did any good. I could hear mice scampering in the ceiling despite the old hits playing from the jukebox trying to drown them out. The floors were sticky, the tables were even stickier, it was a wonder the place was open at all.

We barged in only for Klaus to raise his hands and grin, "I told you so!"

Luther was sitting at a table right in the middle of the bar. His thin overcoat did nothing to hide the outlines of hair underneath his sleeves, but it didn't seem like he cared anymore. He was hunched over three empty mugs and one he was steadily draining. As soon as he saw us, he wrinkled his nose, "Leave me alone."

"Luther, we don't have time for this!" Five placed his palms on the table and glared at his brother, "The end of the world is in two days and we have to stop it."

Luther took an extra large sip of his beer and grunted, "Don't care."

"Come on, big guy," Klaus tried to be sympathetic but Luther waved him off.

Diego plopped down in the empty chair without invitation and glanced at us, "Give us a minute."

I furrowed my eyebrows as Klaus shrugged. It made no sense to me, but Diego seemed confident enough. Five pulled me away until we were just out of earshot of the two brothers. Diego leaned close to Luther and they began to talk, but we were too far away to hear them.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I asked as I pushed myself up to sit on the pool table.

Five surveyed the room as if keeping an eye out for danger, "Hopefully stopping the apocalypse."

"Look at them," Klaus cupped one of his cheeks in his hand and smiled wistfully, "Two brothers, finally trying to bond after all these years."

I wrinkled my nose, "The manliness is almost overwhelming."

"Just two bros being dudes."

"You can practically smell the testosterone, disgusting."

"Children," Five sighed, "You're both immature children."

I leaned forward to look at him, "We're the same age."

"And yet, I got all the maturity."

"That's fine, I got the sense of humor."

"Oh!" Klaus clapped his hands, "Do you need some ice, Five?"

Five glanced at Klaus, "For what?"

"For that burn."

As if scripted, Klaus and I high-fived, earning an eye roll from Five. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned on the pool table next to where I was sitting. I gave him a wink, and he pretended to ignore me. I could see the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Allison?" Luther suddenly jumped up, "You should have led with that!"

He began storming towards the door. I quickly jumped off the table as we all rushed to follow him. When he ripped the door off its hinges in an attempt to get out, I winced as Diego propped it on the wall and sent the bartender a sympathetic smile.

With more of us in the car, it was difficult to fit in comfortably. Especially when one of us was Luther, who took up at least a seat and a half. Five instantly slid into the driver's seat as I took the passenger seat. When Diego tried to move Klaus to the middle of the backseat, he pushed his brother away, "Nope, there's no room left!"

"What?" Diego frowned, "Klaus, come on, there's an entire empty seat."

"It's taken!"

"Klaus!"

"We don't have time for this!" Five said for what felt like the hundredth time that day alone, "Diego, just get in the front seat!"

I scooted to the middle just in time for Diego to jump in the passenger seat. Before he even had the door shut, Five sped off down the street. As he got onto the freeway, Luther leaned forward, "Where is Allison?"

"She went to find Harold Jenkins and Vanya," Diego gripped the handle above his door, "We found his grandmother's cabin just outside of the city, we think he took Vanya there."

I glanced at him, "How did you figure that out?"

"We googled him."

"Diego, will you stop talking nonsense?!"

Diego smirked at me with a small chuckle. I glanced at Five, who simply shrugged. Running a hand down my face, I slumped in the chair, "The future is confusing."

"Technically, it's our past," Five shrugged.

I glared at him as he shot me his signature grin. Technically he wasn't wrong, if you took into account our time in the apocalypse. It was the future if you counted the fact that we came from 1963. Rubbing my temples, I muttered, "I hate time travel."

"Where is this cabin?" Luther's anxiety showed in every word he spoke.

"It's only about an hour away," Diego dug a map out of the glove compartment and opened it wide enough to take up nearly the entire front seat, "The freeway should take us straight there."

Five took off down the highway at a speed that had to be dangerous. For a few minutes, the car was eerily quiet. It felt unnatural for it to be this quiet. In all the time I had been with this family, they were never quiet. Most of the time, they were yelling, it was odd for there to be a moment of silence with them.

"Can you drive any faster?" Luther leaned on the front seat and tapped his fingers on the leather. 

Five tightened his grip on the steering wheel, "Ask me again, and I'll burn you with the cigarette lighter."

"Don't mind him," I glanced back at Luther when he fell back in his seat, "He gets a little uptight when he drives."

Luther crossed his arms, "Really? I didn't notice a difference from his usual self."

"Luther, I will turn this car around," Five threatened.

"Oh, look, trees!" Klaus pointed out the window, "Does that mean we're there?"

Diego rolled his eyes, "Do you see a log cabin, man?"

"You never said anything about a log cabin."

"I swear," Five gritted his teeth, "These children are impossible."

I patted his shoulder and smiled, "They're young, Five, they don't know any better."

"Youth is insufferable."

"I think youth is a blessing."

"I'm sorry," Luther raised his hands, "Does anyone else think this is weird?"

Klaus waved Luther off, "You get used to it."

Luther and Diego exchanged glances as Diego shrugged. Sometimes I forgot about my young body and how odd it must be to hear a thirteen-year-old talk like an old woman. I was still an old woman at heart, and it was much easier to remember that than remember I was youthful in my body. I've already lived life once, it was difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that I got a second chance.

Throughout the entire drive, I counted six times that Five threatened to turn the car around. One time he nearly did until Luther and Diego both yelled at him to continue. Each time, nobody noticed when he sped up ever so slightly.

When we turned onto a totally deserted dirt road, I knew we were almost there. The cabin came into view just moments later. It wasn't anything special, just a few rooms and a wrap-around porch. If we weren't on a high stakes mission, it might be a peaceful place to relax for a few days. One could easily forget it was the family cabin of a homicidal maniac.

Luther was the first one out of the car with the rest of us quick to follow. I noticed how the air seemed slightly warmer than it should have in late March. I wasn't entirely sure what that meant but I knew it couldn't be good. Luther barreled up the steps and hurried towards the front door, all while shouting, "Allison!"

It felt eerily quiet, the sort of quiet you could feel pressing down on you. All of the hairs on my body stood up and I felt my fingers involuntarily clench. Lights sparked around Five's fingers as he quickly clenched them into fists. I wasn't the only one that felt the dooming silence all around us.

I was in the very back whenever Luther flung open the door. All I heard was, "Allison! No!"

I could hear Luther thud onto the ground. My pace quickened, as did Five and Diego's. We rounded the corner to see Luther hunched over in a puddle of blood, clutching the unresponsive Allison to his chest and sobbing, "Oh my God, Allison. No, please, please look at me."

Allison was completely unresponsive. As Klaus put his hands on Luther's back comfortingly, I caught a glimpse of Allison's sliced neck. Involuntarily, I gasped and gripped Five's arm. Without even realizing it, he reached back for me as well.

For a moment, I thought Allison was dead until she blinked. Blood was still gushing out of the swollen cut going straight across her neck. Her white shirt had turned black with all the blood she had already lost, not to mention the permanently stained wood beneath her. Luther held her like a limp ragdoll as her eyes went in two entirely different directions.

"S-he's lost too much bl-blood," Diego crouched next to Luther, "We-we won't get her b-back in t-time."

Luther hugged Allison even tighter, making more blood gush out of her wound. For a moment, I simply stared at them, my mind going completely blank and panic setting in. My instincts kicked into high gear and I knew exactly what I had to do.

"I can stop the bleeding," I hurried to fall into a kneel at Allison's head, "But it's going to take all of my concentration."

Luther glanced up at me, "How?"

"Clove, that kind of shield will take too much energy," Five took a step forward to where he was directly behind Luther.

"Luckily, I just had the best sleep I've had in fifty years," I cracked my knuckles and glanced up at Luther, "Can you get her to the car?"

Luther nodded. Turning to Diego, Five, and Klaus, I gave them a small nod. Five pressed his lips together in hesitation before giving me the same nod. Allison was steadily losing blood, we were running out of time.

I held both of my hands above Allison's neck and took a deep breath. Energy buzzed around my fingertips as a shield appeared around her neck. It wrapped perfectly around her wound much like a choker, and put enough pressure to keep what little blood she had left in her body without strangling her.

The shield I held around Allison's neck took a lot more energy and concentration than the one I made around Five's wound. With Five, I didn't have to worry about applying too much or too little pressure. His wound was in a spot that pressure wouldn't affect. For Allison, however, if I even applied slightly too much pressure, her windpipes could be crushed in their already fragile state. If I applied too little, she could bleed out and the shield would have been worthless. I had to put my entire focus into keeping the shield just right.

My concentration was so invested in Allison, I barely realized when Luther lifted her up and we began to rush out of the cabin. Five directed me gently while Diego and Klaus opened doors. It was difficult to get both Allison and me in the car at the same time.

It ended up with Allison in the back, spread over Luther and Klaus' laps. Diego took the wheel while Five rode shotgun. I knelt in between Diego and Five, leaning over the back of the front seat so I could hover above Allison's neck. As Diego sped us back to the academy, Five held onto me to keep me from flying in either direction.

The entire time, my focus was on Allison. Everything else faded away as I put my all into keeping the shield around her wound intact. Once, I glanced up just long enough to see both of her eyes looking directly at me. I could see the fear in her eyes as well as the pain and hope. That was when I put even more of myself into keeping her shield perfect.

Diego drove as fast as he could to save his sister.


	25. Ironically Alive

"Can you go any faster?!" Luther's voice was strained despite him yelling at the top of his lungs.

Diego grimaced, "Would you like to drive?!"

"Is yelling at each other really going to do any good?" Klaus' voice was the calmest of us all.

"All of you shut up," Five kept a tight grip on my middle to keep me from falling over, "If you break Clove's concentration, Allison will die."

Their voices bounced around my ears but I never truly heard any of them. Everything I had went into the shield around Allison's neck. My shield was the only thing keeping her alive, and all of us knew it. If my concentration was switched for even the slightest second, the shield could falter and Allison could die right there in the backseat.

The buzzing of my energy echoed throughout my entire body. Had my bones been hollow, I would have said the energy was buzzing straight through the caverns within them. It sounded like an echo through something hollow yet firm, it bounced all through my body to where I not only heard it but I could feel it too. It tickled me from the inside out, making my entire body itch but I suppressed the urge to scratch it.

"Please don't die," Luther whispered over Allison's body, "Please, Allison, stay with me."

Diego sped down the freeway, nearly knocking me into the backseat in the process. Five caught me before I could go flying, pulling me back onto the seat and holding even tighter, "Don't worry, Clove, I've got you."

I did my best to ignore the stars dancing across my vision. The echoing hum of electricity in my body began to dull as the shield flickered. I sucked in a deep breath and put more force into it, making even more spots dance across my vision, "Shield failing, go faster."

"Go faster, Diego!" Five relayed.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Diego shouted, "One more comment and you're all walking home!"

"Just drive!"

By the time we made it to the academy, my vision had almost completely been taken up by stars. Diego parked the car right on the curb in front of the door, and Luther was out before the car even stopped fully. The biggest problem was making sure Allison and I moved at the same rate, especially when I couldn't walk.

The moment I stepped out of the car, I fell onto my knees. The shield around Allison's neck flickered but I quickly caught it. Five knelt at my side and grabbed my arms, "Can you walk?"

I didn't have the strength to reply, but that told him all he needed to know. Luther held Allison to his chest, with one arm under her legs and the other under her upper back, "How are we supposed to get them both upstairs if she can't walk?"

"I got this," Diego crouched down next to me and pulled me over his shoulder.

He had his shoulder braced under my arms as he rushed ahead of Luther. From that vantage point, I could perfectly see Allison's neck. Klaus and Five took care of the doors as Diego and Luther focused on getting us both up the stairs.

The house seemed even more empty than it even had been before. If it could have possibly gotten darker, it did in just the little bit since I had last been there. Even through my immense concentration, I could sense the foreboding eeriness seeping from every crack in the wall.

The thundering of Luther and Diego's footsteps nearly drowned out the gentle, "Oh dear!"

Pogo and Grace were both at the top of the stairs waiting for us. It was Pogo who gasped when he first saw us, but it was Grace who sprung into action. Without hesitation, she fell into step with Luther and began to examine Allison, "We need to get her to the med bay before it's too late."

The med bay was at the very end of one of the longest halls in the house. It may have once been a bedroom, but all of the wallpaper had long since been torn off and replaced with barren wooden walls. What remained was covered with shelves upon shelves of medical equipment. I vaguely realized the transition from wooden floors to tile from the clicking of Grace's heels.

Grace shrugged on medical scrubs as well as snapped on latex gloves. As she tied her scrubs, Luther laid Allison down on the table. Diego gently set me on the ground where I just barely managed to remain upright.

I stood just above Allison's head as Grace prepared her medical equipment. At any moment, my shield was going to fail, I could feel it flickering even then. We didn't have a single moment to lose.

When Grace stepped towards Allison's neck with gauze and a medical-grade sewing kit, she glanced up at me and smiled, "You can let go now, Clove dear."

As soon as I let go of the shield, Grace had gauze against Allison's neck. For a moment, I just stood there, unable to see anything through the stars dancing in my vision. It felt like every part of my body was losing feeling bit by bit, starting at my toes and working its way up. The tingles quickly turned to the silence of numb muscles and the total absence of any feelings.

"Clove?" Five gingerly stepped towards me.

I glanced up at him just as I began to fall over. He warped behind me just in time to catch me, hooking his arms under my own. Looping one of my arms around his shoulders, he held me up just barely and grunted, "I'm taking her to eat and rest."

Not even bothering to wait for a reply, Five warped us into his bedroom. I registered the sudden change from dark oak walls to light green with half erased chalk equations. The room drastically became brighter as Five helped me towards the bed. He laid me down on top of the comforter, the tips of the feathers sticking out and poking through my sweater.

"Wait here," he pulled the same wool blanket Grace tucked him in with up to my chin, "I'll be right back."

He vanished, leaving me alone in the cold room. My consciousness drifted in and out to the point where I wasn't ever really sure if I was awake or asleep. I could hear noises, people arguing and someone hitting the ground with a thud, but I wasn't sure if they were real or part of a dream.

"Clove," someone was shaking my shoulder, "Clove, wake up."

I pulled the blankets over my head, grumbling, "Five more minutes."

"No more minutes, you need to eat before you pass out."

I pulled the blankets down just enough to peek one eye out. Five was standing at the edge of the bed with a sandwich and a glass of water. The idea of food made my stomach turn, I wasn't quite sure if I could keep anything down. I pulled the blankets off my face and frowned, "I don't want it."

"You don't have a choice," he held the sandwich out to me, "Sleeping won't replenish all your energy."

I gazed up at him, "I can try."

"No, you won't."

The two of us commenced in a stare down where only the most stubborn of us could win. As always I ended up looking away and grumbling, "One day, I'm gonna win one of those."

"You've only been trying for half a century," Five passed me the sandwich once I was sitting upright.

I picked the sandwich up off the plate and rolled my eyes, "Good to know you got all the stubbornness."

"And you got all the immaturity."

"Ah, but that's two for me."

"Who's counting?"

"Clearly I am."

Five leaned back in his chair and stared at me. Rolling my eyes, I took a small bite of the sandwich, all while maintaining eye contact with him. He smiled, satisfied, as I began to eat the sandwich.

"How do you feel?" Five asked.

I leaned against his bed frame and pulled my knees to my chest, "Like I haven't slept in a century."

"I believe that was the most high-energy shield you've ever created," Five crossed his arms across his middle, "Your powers are getting stronger."

I roughly swallowed a large bite, "Barely, I just kept my focus for longer than I could before."

"I think that's a superpower."

I glanced up at him and hid my smile in my sandwich. The entire time I ate, I still felt like I might keel over in my sandwich at any moment. Just by the toll it took on my body, I could tell Five was right. The shield I used to stop Allison from bleeding out was not only the most high-energy shield I had ever made, but it was also the most focused I had ever been. It felt like my entire body had just been sucked into a straw and forced to condense into one direction. Now that it was finally free to spread out, it didn't quite know what to do with itself.

Five had to take the last bit of sandwich from me before I passed out. He sat on the bed next to me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. With my consciousness drifting in and out, I mumbled, "What now?"

"Now, you rest," Five took my hat and laid it on the bedside table, "We'll figure out step two when you wake up."

My eyes were slowly drifting close, "What about the apocalypse?"

"We can't figure that out if you're running yourself ragged."

Five scooted down slightly to make himself more comfortable as well as me. Despite the looming apocalypse, I felt safe right there. I felt like I could sleep, and really sleep, without any fears or worries. For a moment, everything felt right with the world. My eyes easily drifted shut as all tension left my body. 

Just as I was about to fall asleep, the door to the bedroom slammed open. Five sighed, "Hello Diego."

"The bastard that nearly killed our sister is still out there with our other sister!" Diego began to pace at the end of the bed, "We need to find Vanya."

Five ran a hand through his hair, "Vanya is not important."

Diego paused and turned on Five slowly. His face was contorted into a look of utter disbelief. Even I had to glance up at Five through blurry vision, "Five, she's your sister."

"And here I thought maybe the tin man did have a heart," Diego crossed his arms.

"I'm not saying I don't care about her, I'm saying that she will die with the rest of the world if we don't do something about it," Five's entire body tensed, "The apocalypse happens today, unless we do something right now. Harold Jenkins is our first priority."

Diego paused before nodding, "Right, fine, but then we find Vanya."

"You're in luck," I mumbled weakly, "The sociopath that ends the world just so happens to be Vanya's boyfriend."

For a moment, Diego and Five just stared at me. I glanced between them and shrugged, "Two birds, one stone?"

"She's right, Vanya has to be with Harold," Diego repositioned his knife halter, "If we find Vanya, we find Harold Jenkins."

"Let's go," Five grinned.

He gently sat me up and stood, making sure to leave a pillow in his place for me to lean on. Instead of leaning on it like he intended, I pushed myself up with intentions of standing, "I'm coming too."

"No, you're not," Five caught me when I finally got to my feet and nearly fell over, "You need to rest."

He gently laid me back on the bed. I gripped his arm, "We're supposed to do this together."

"And we are," Five crouched next to the bed and gave me a smile, "It won't do any of us any good if you kill yourself over this. You stay here, rest, I'll handle this."

He gripped my hand and gave me one last tender smile. Squeezing his hand, I pursed my lips and nodded. As much as I wanted to go with them, I knew I would only be slowing them down. Five squeezed my hand one last time before standing up.

"So the tin man does have a heart," Diego smirked from the corner.

"Shut up, Diego," Five stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to speed out the door, "Come on, we don't have much time left."

Five shot one last look at me before leaving the room. I watched as the entire room slowly became blurrier. Diego, just a dark blob in my vision now, slowly shut the door behind him. Before I could hear the click, I was fast asleep.


	26. Doomsday Or Not, I'm Staying In Bed

I woke up to a cold shiver. It had become difficult to breathe underneath the heavy weight suddenly present in the house. A dark place had become darker as the Hargreeves' had their own little apocalypse. Even as I woke up in a delirium, I could sense it.

The house that may have once held life suddenly felt more like a morgue than anything else. My eyes shifted around the dark room mistaking every hanging coat for a ghoul and every flickering shadow as a vengeful spirit. Perhaps a bit of my childish mentality came back too as I found myself scared of the monsters in the closet once again.

My skin prickled into goose bumps as I slowly sat up. It felt like a million eyes were on me but I knew mine were the only ones in the room. I suddenly had the very present feeling of being entirely alone, but only as far as my mind could perceive. Part of me wished Klaus were there to tell me if there were spirits lurking, all of me wished Five was there.

I couldn't stand being in that room for very long. The fear of being alone outweighed anything else, add vengeful spirits on top of that and I already felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. I couldn't be alone, I didn't want to be alone. Wrapping the blanket around my shoulders, I stood up much quicker than I should have.

Glowing stars danced across my vision as I swayed on my feet. Standing up alone took nearly all of the energy I had gained in my short nap, and I already felt like passing out. As much energy as I used on my last shield, I should have been unconscious for days. Instead, I plodded out of Five's old bedroom, a blanket wrapped around my body much like a child, and a deep frown across my face.

The house seemed empty and I became worried Five hadn't returned from his trip to find Harold Jenkins. IT was difficult to tell how long I had been unconscious for, or if I had ever even been unconscious at all. The events of the past few days all went so fast, they seemed like a blur in my mind, I could barely tell what event came first and which ones hadn't even happened at all.

As I climbed down the foreboding staircase, I became worried I was the last one left. The house was so eerily quiet, I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only one inside. When I rounded the corner into the living room, however, I was grateful to find I wasn't the last one.

"What're you doing awake, Clove?" Five called.

I stood in the doorway and frowned, "I've had enough sleep."

"Not even close," Five peered over the bar, "You should be resting."

I shuffled into the living room and fell face-first on the couch closest to the bar, "And we both should be older, but here we are."

"I can tell you're exhausted," Five poured green liquid into his mixer, "You're always cranky when you're exhausted."

I pulled the blanket further up my body, "Fuck off."

"You wouldn't know what to do without me."

"So he does have a sense of humor."

Five turned on the blender for just half a minute before quickly turning it off, "I have a lot of things you don't know about."

"Five," I glanced up at him wearily, "I had to break it to you, but I know all your dirty little secrets."

"Oh yeah?" Five poured his mixture into three cups, "Like what?"

I watched him drop straws and umbrellas into each drink, "Like how you can't fall asleep without singing a lullaby to yourself."

Five hesitated for a moment. Grinning, I muttered, "Gotcha."

"This proves nothing," Five set one of the margaritas in front of Dolores before taking the other two around the bar, "And that stays between us."

I smiled, "Of course."

Five set one cup on the bar next to Dolores before moving to me. He had managed to prop Dolores up on an old spice rack so she could join in the conversation too. If I stared at her long enough, I could imagine her lips moving to form words I couldn't quite hear. She seemed like she was just another person enjoying time spent with those she cares about, not the top half of a mannequin who had been to Hell and back.

Five handed me the third margarita glass, which he had made at the last minute. The straw was just long enough so I could drink it without ever having to move from my side. As I curled into a tighter ball, I sipped on the cold lime liquid.

"What are you doing up, Clove?" Five slid himself onto one of the barstools and began to sip his margarita.

I glanced up at him, "I didn't want to be alone."

Five met my eyes for a moment and offered one of his tender smiles. Those smiles were rare, and they seemed to be getting rarer each day. I had come to treasure each and every one, making sure to commit them to memory just in case memories were all I had left one day.

The house felt less scary with all of us together again. Our weird little family seemed to banish any demons that could have been lurking in the darkest corners. My sudden fear of the monster in the closet began to wean away until it was gone entirely. I was perfectly content curled up on the couch and sipping a margarita with my best friend and his mannequin girlfriend.

"We found Harold Jenkins," Five's voice was low, "The eye fit."

I nearly choked on my margarita and I flung my head up, "What?!"

"The porcelain eye Luther was clutching when he died belonged to Harold Jenkins. It was the same eye color, the same pupil size, a perfect match."

I blinked, "How do you know?"

"I put it in his eye socket," Five sipped his margarita, "He must have just recently lost his eye, he still had the hospital issued gauze eye patch."

I paused, "Did he just let you put the eye in his head?"

"He didn't really have a choice," Five offered a tiny smile, "He's dead."

At that point, I nearly spit out my margarita, "He's dead?"

"Stabbed to death half a million times."

I fell silent. It was difficult to believe, after forty-six years trying to get to this exact moment in time, it was difficult to believe. If what Five was telling me was true, which I fully believed he was, then that could mean only one thing.

"Is it over?" I whispered, "Did we do it?"

Five met my eyes and tried to hide the crack in his voice, "We did it, Clove. Harold Jenkins is dead, and the apocalypse is over."

There was no reason for us to question otherwise. The Commission had ordered the protection of Harold Jenkins, which would mean his death would stop the apocalypse. It was finally over and I could barely believe it. A tension I had been holding since the moment I stole the briefcase all those years ago suddenly left my body. Muscles I didn't know I had anymore released and relaxed, giving me a new feeling I had never known before. I released a breath, one I could have been holding for nearly half a century.

It was over. After forty-five years spent in the barren wasteland of the apocalypse, and one year spent as hired assassins, it was over. Everything we had ever done in our entire lives was leading up to this, and now, it was done. That was it, it was over, everything we had worked for had finally come to pass. I felt just as nervous as I was relieved.

Everything had been about the apocalypse. All that we had done, our entire past, present, and future was built on the apocalypse. In a way, that was our only identity, not just for Five but for me as well. That was our only goal for so many years, now that it was gone, I wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Now what?" I whispered.

Five swirled his straw in his drink, "I don't know. I suppose we grow up."

"We already did that once," I leaned on my elbows to better look at him, "Should we do it again?"

"What other choice is there?"

We were given a second chance, but I wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. I had grown up once, what good would a second time do? It was a rare gift to be given a second chance at life, and I had no idea where to go from here.

"Whatever we do," Five glanced up at me and smiled, "We'll do it together."

I gave him a toothy grin, "Together."

Five's grin matched mine, though he was always much more eloquent. As I opened my mouth to speak again, the doorbell rang. It was a sort of thundering ring much like church bells on a Sunday afternoon. The sound shook the entire house, making even the panels of the ceiling rain dust down on us.

"I've got it," Five abandoned his stool and started heading to the front door, "Don't go anywhere."

I leaned my head on the couch and smiled, "Wasn't planning on it!"

My legs were slowly going numb once again. Sleep could only replenish so much of my energy, especially when it was barely any sleep in the grand scheme of things. I knew I'd be perfectly content taking a nap right there on the couch, it was much better than going back to the lonely bedroom.

I could hear the door creak as it opened. Two voices spoke, and the only one I identified was Five's. I kept my head resting on the couch as I patiently waited for Five to return.

When he finally did round the corner, he swallowed a quick sip of his margarita and said, "Clove, we have a guest."

"Oh? Who?"

Hazel emerged just after Five. He had his gun raised at his hip and a determined look on his face. Surprisingly, he seemed a lot more relaxed than he had before. The tension had left his muscles as well, and, by the shaky way he held his gun, I could guess he forgot how to pull the trigger.

"Hazel!" I flung my arms up, "Would you like a margarita?"

Five shifted himself onto the stool, "I already offered, he said no."

"Are you sure? They're very good margaritas."

Five glanced at the gun in Hazel's hand and took a sip, "Are you here to kill us?"

"Oops, sorry," Hazel tucked his gun back into his waistband, "Old habits."

"You're not going to kill us?" I asked.

Hazel glanced at me, "No, of course not, though I can understand why you would think that."

"Well," Five took a prolonged sip of his drink, "You broke into my home, tried to kill my family on multiple occasions, kidnapped and tortured my brother, and dropped a chandelier on my other brother."

Hazel winced, "There's not much I can do about the past, but I can say I'm sorry."

"Well, I forgive you," I leaned on my elbow, "With a face like that? Who couldn't?"

Hazel cupped his own cheek before glancing at Five, "Is she alright?"

"She's fine, don't mind her," Five easily brushed him off, "Why are you here, Hazel?"

Hazel paused and glanced around the room. His demeanor was a lot more balanced than it ever had been before. Instead of jerky movements like he was desperately trying to move all his marbles on the right side that would keep him balanced, he moved smoothly like he knew they were already all in place. His hands shook, but I had a feeling that was from years of wear and tear rather than nerves. Oddly, he even seemed like he had more color than before, his cheeks were a lot pinker than usual.

"I came to volunteer my services," he straightened his back as he spoke.

I blinked, "The food bank is down the road."

"Wha-no," Hazel furrowed his eyebrows at me, "No, I'm here to help stop the apocalypse."

Five and I slowly exchanged glances as we took simultaneous slow sips of our bright green drinks. A small smile crept onto my lips as Five glanced at Hazel, "You're about a day late and a dollar short."

"Wait, what?" Hazel suddenly dropped his arms.

"Harold Jenkins, the target you and Cha Cha were almost assigned to protect," Five fiddled with his straw, "He's dead, the apocalypse is over."

For a moment, Hazel just stared at Five. It was a lot to comprehend, I wouldn't blame him if he stood there for the rest of the day trying to comprehend it. We both watched as a smile grew across his lips and he all but tapped his heels, "Really?! Alright!"

He didn't have much time to celebrate. There was a soft thud and a loud smack. Diego was back on his feet just as quickly as Hazel was on the ground. Another loud smack and Diego had flipped over Hazel's back and planted a firm kick right in the middle of his face. Hazel rolled backwards and grimaced as Diego kept advancing.

"Diego!" Five shouted, "Diego, stop!"

I leaned on my hand and watched Diego and Hazel go at it. Hazel was back on his feet, his assassin instincts kicking in as he easily dodged and landed a few hits on Diego. Diego kept lunging and flipping, using any sort of acrobatic training he may have had to gain the upper-hand. All the while, Five and I watched.

When Diego pulled out his knife, I finally had enough. I pushed myself up to lean on the back of the couch and raised my hands. Just as I took a deep breath, Five called out, "Clove, don't!"

A shield formed between Diego and Hazel. Diego lunged for Hazel, but slammed head-first into my shield. Spinning around, he glared at me, "Drop the shield, Clove."

"Only if you'll start thinking before acting," I retorted.

"I think he killed Patch," Diego cracked his knuckles, "And I'm acting on it. See? Done."

He didn't have a chance to spin back around on Hazel, as Five warped behind him and slammed a vase into his head. Diego hit the ground, unconscious, and I was finally able to release my shield. Stars began to dance across my vision once again as I fell onto the couch, my entire body going numb and my vision threatening to go out at any moment. Five warped to my side just in time to catch my margarita before it hit the ground.

"I told you you needed more rest," Five muttered as he sat my margarita on the nearby table.

I grumbled a few words that slurred together to the point where they no longer made sense. Five sat back down on his stool and began sipping his margarita, "Why did you want to help us stop the apocalypse?"

"Weren't you supposed to do the opposite," I moved to where my face was facing outwards and my cheek was squished into the couch.

"I left Cha Cha, quit the Commission, and left that life behind," Hazel waved as if waving off that entire life.

Five frowned, "Nobody quits the commission."

"You did."

"Special circumstances," Five shrugged, "But why?"

Hazel straightened his suit jacket and cleared his throat, "Let's just say- I have a vested interest in a donut shop."

The way his cheeks turned pink and he seemed to float just a little higher caught my attention. Smiling, I muttered, "Aw, Hazel, are you in love?"

"Well-perhaps," he still seemed unwilling to release personal details, as was protocol back at the Commission, "I'm committed to this world and I don't want to see it gone."

Five sipped his drink, "You're in luck, then, because the apocalypse is over."

"And you're sure?"

"Absolutely positive, you being here just proves it."

Hazel returned to his celebration, snapping his fingers as he pumped his fists, "Hot dog!"

He jumped a little in place, doing a tiny dance that made me smile and Five roll his eyes. With a skip in his step, he hopped over to the empty stool next to Five and grabbed the blender. Draining it of its original contents, he wiped his mouth and smiled, "Now what?"

"I don't know," Five muttered, "The apocalypse is all I've thought about for so long, I never really thought about the day after."

Both men paused. Five glanced back at me to see I was drifting in and out of consciousness. As much as I hated to admit it, Five was right, I didn't have near enough rest to make even the tiniest shield. The small, low-energy shield I made between Diego and Hazel already took all of it out of me. I might pass out again at any moment.

"What about you?" Five asked.

"I'm done with this life," Hazel shrugged his shoulders, "Done with all this madness, all this killing. I'm starting over, perhaps you should do the same."

Five gently looked up at him, "Easier said than done."

"I suppose, life now is whatever you want it to be," Hazel leaned on his elbows and glanced at Five, "You've got a second start, old timer, that's a rare gift indeed."

Five scoffed, "Rare? It's impossible."

"You're here, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and now I'm not quite sure what to do with it," Five glanced back at me, "We've got a second chance, but what are we going to do with it?"

Hazel shrugged, "What would you do if it was your first chance?"

Five met Hazel's eyes and hesitated. I don't think I would want it to be my first chance. If this was my first chance at life, my first time being a teenager, I would still be in Quebec City and I never would have met Five or any of the Hargreeves. I wouldn't have friends, I wouldn't have my best friend, and that isn't a life I would want.

"I don't know," Five muttered, "I guess I'd grow up a lot like them."

He gestured to the still unconscious Diego. Hazel smiled, "That sounds like a plan to me."

"We could grow up again," Five glanced back at me and met my eyes, "Together, with a family."

A small smile spread across my lips. Warmth ran through my body, even making it to the areas without any feeling. Smiling, I muttered, "Family."

"There you go, you can grow up," Hazel abandoned his seat at the bar, "Good luck."

He began to leave, stepping around the spread out body of Diego. I watched him, my consciousness waning. Before he could leave, Five spun around, "Hazel, wait."

"Hm?" the man in question spun around.

"Which one of you was the triggerman for Detective Patch?"

Hazel slouched his shoulders, "Trigger woman."

"That's depressing," Five sighed deeply, "That gun could've cleared my brother's name."

Hazel grinned, "Today is your lucky day, no apocalypse and two guns ready to clear your brother."

He pulled both pistols out of his waistband and rested them on the bar next to Five. Both five and I stared at them before glancing back at Hazel, "I'm done with that life. Take them, they're yours."

"Thanks, Hazel," Five smiled.

Hazel gave a mock salute before stepping over Diego and vanishing from the room. Five and I were completely silent, the only sound coming from his sips, until we heard the big door slam.

"That was a welcome interaction," my voice was half muffled by the couch cushions.

Five spun to face me, "You should be sleeping, Clove."

"Should be this, should be that," I buried my face completely in the cushion, "I should be a lot of things."

"Asleep being at the top of the list."

Groans interrupted our conversation as shattered glass sprinkled to the floor. All at once, the groans stopped and the person leapt to their feet. I allowed one of my eyes to peek around the couch cushions just in time to see Diego up and with a knife in his hand, "Where is he?"

"Glad you're awake," Five tilted his head, "Ready for a drink?"

"Where is he?"

I raised my hand slightly, "The margaritas are delicious."

"Five, where is he?" Diego repeated for the third time.

Five barely even blinked, "I let him go."

"You what?!" Diego ran a hand through his hair and spun around in an exasperated manner, "He killed Patch!"

Five abandoned his margarita on the bar and picked up Dolores, "Wrong, his partner killed Patch."

"Doesn't matter, they were both there."

"It just so happens, this half just gave me the guns to clear your name," Five gestured to the two pistols on the bar, "Ballistics can match the guns to Patch's murder and your name will be cleared."

Diego simply stared at the guns. As he took a step towards the bar, Five took a step away, all the while gazing into Dolores' eyes, "It's time to move on, Diego. Hazel came here for just that, and he gave us the one thing that could do this family at least a little bit of good."

"I'm not moving on," Diego grumbled, "I can't, not after what they did."

Five took a step toward me and shrugged, "Suit yourself, you'll just run yourself dry."

"Vengeance is not the way to peace," I raised a hand as if I were some ancient, wise scholar, "Forgiveness is."

Diego spun on me, "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"I've tried to tell her, she won't listen to me," Five looked down at me.

"I listen to no one."

Just by speaking, I felt like I was going to make myself pass out. Even more stars danced in my vision as I did my best to focus on one of the people in front of me. Both moved around in blurry blobs, and their voices sounded far away. Like I was listening on an old radio in the next room.

"Tell me," Five stroked Dolores' head, "Patch, what did you like about her?"

Diego hesitated, "Nice butt, good legs."

"That's sexist," I mumbled.

"Go to sleep, Clove."

"You're not the boss of me."

"Anything a bit more profound," Five interrupted our little bickering session.

Diego hesitated, "She believed in people. No matter what, no matter what scum of the Earth she was faced with, she believed in each and every person, together and individually."

"I'm sure she would be ecstatic to learn you were honoring her memory by killing people," Five took a step forward, "You don't have to forgive and forget, Diego, but Patch would want you to move on. She would want you to give up this petty vengeance and move on with your life."

Diego hesitated as if mulling it over. If I concentrated, I could have sworn I heard the gears moving in his head. Five's words had meaning to him, even if he wouldn't acknowledge it.

"Now, before you go off on your brooding session," Five sighed before looking down at me, "Would you help me get her upstairs?"

Diego glanced at me, "Can't she walk?"

"Not without passing out."

I barely realized when Diego had lifted me off the couch and began to carry me up the stairs. My entire body was like a ragdoll, moving in entirely opposite ways all on its own. Even my head lulled, allowing my eyelids to pop open all on their own so I could look at Five, "Don't wanna."

"You're half asleep already, Clove," Five spoke as we stepped into his bedroom, "If you don't sleep now, you'll run yourself into the ground."

Diego put me on the bed as Five set Dolores down. He thanked Diego before crouching next to me. I didn't even realize when Diego left, leaving Five alone with the mostly unconscious me.

"I'm going to put Dolores back," he glanced at the mannequin in question, "I'll be back soon."

I tried to push myself up on my elbows, but I could barely make it an inch without falling over, "I'll come with you."

"You need to rest, Clove," Five pulled the blanket over me, "Besides, this is- this is something I need to do alone."

He glanced at Dolores. Watching him gaze at her, I understood. I reached out to grab his hand as I smiled, "I'll be right here when you get back."

He gave my hand one last squeeze before retrieving Dolores and leaving the room. Before he shut the door behind him, however, he turned off the light. Once again, I was alone in the dark.

I wonder if this is what life is going to be like from now on. All of us going our own ways, but doing it together. A dysfunctional family in an even more dysfunctional world, but a world that was living and thriving all the same. Thanks to us.

Perhaps we could be a family. Five was already my family, but I felt like the others could be too. Luther might take some time warming up to the idea, but I already felt comfortable with the others. Diego and I already bickered like we knew each other all our lives, even Klaus and I joked around like we had grown up together.

Maybe we could be a family. When I pictured the future, I was never quite sure what to picture, but I knew it could be with them. All I have ever wanted was a family, and now I had the potential of getting that wish. I could grow up, again, with Five, Diego, Klaus, Allison, Vanya, and Luther. I could grow up to be just as fucked up as they are, and I would be okay with that. That sounds like a good life to me.

Now that the apocalypse was over, I could finally think about the future and picture something other than a desolate wasteland. We had stopped it, the world was going to keep on turning, and now we finally had a future. One without having to live on polluted water, old cans of beans, and cockroaches. We could have a life, have a future, with friends and family. That sounds like a nice life indeed.

It felt like I was only lying there daydreaming for mere seconds, but it had really been several hours. I woke up suddenly to darkness streaming through the curtains and a crash so violent it knocked me off the bed. Rolling on the ground, I became tangled in the blankets as another crash shook the entire house right down to its very core.

"Shit."


	27. In Which Shit Hits The Fan So Hard The Entire House Explodes

"Shit."

The entire house seemed to shake on its own. The shakes were rhythmic, almost on a beat. I could count the exact number of beats in a perfect rhythm just like a song.

"What kind of house shakes in perfect iambic meter?" I grumbled as I pushed myself onto my feet.

I nearly fell back down again when the house shook even harder. I could hear bits and pieces crumbling as dust rained from the ceiling. It wasn't hard to tell the entire house was on the verge of collapsing, but the question was why. What could possibly be taking down The Umbrella Academy?

Floorboards splintered under my feet as I sprinted into the hall. I was half afraid the door would come off its hinges when I flung it open. Ignoring my light-headedness and stars dancing across my vision, I skidded around a corner and ran through the hall.

Diego and Klaus were emerging from their bedrooms whenever I rounded the corner. For the third time since we met, I ran smack into Diego and fell onto my butt. Pogo appeared on the stairs as Diego lifted me up, "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Diego dodged a falling piece of sheetrock, "Earthquake?"

Klaus held his hands over his head like a shield, "Since when did we get earthquakes?"

The door to Allison's bedroom flung open and Luther jumped out. Behind him, I could see the sickly looking Allison, still healing from her wound and the trauma that came with it. She looked ten years older and her eyes had sunken in. Luther stood in front of her protectively, his eyes wide and his stance defensive.

"What the hell is going on?" Diego demanded.

Luther grimaced, "Vanya."

"Vanya?" I glanced between Diego and Luther, "What's wrong with Vanya?"

Diego's glare could have burned Luther to a crisp, "Care to answer that, Luther?"

"Now is not the time!" Pogo interrupted them before they could start bickering, "We have to get out of the academy! Now!"

The house began to crumble even more as a loud crash nearly sent us all onto the floor. I grabbed onto the wall to steady myself, all the while my blood began to run cold. Luther reached back for Allison as he gazed at Diego and Klaus, "Get Mom and get out!"

Without hesitation, the two men ran through the crumbling sheetrock. The house shook even more and I clutched onto the wall for dear life. Luther glanced down at Pogo and frowned, "Pogo, I'm-"

"No time," Pogo began to hurry to the stairs, "Go! Now!"

Luther spun around to grab Allison, who was still shaky on her feet. Without hesitation, I went to her other side and acted as sort of a crutch for her. The shaking seemed to be getting closer, or whatever was causing the shaking was getting even closer.

"Clove, how strong are your shields?" Luther shouted over the rumbling of the house.

"Depends," it was difficult to hear myself speak over the crumbling house, "How strong do we need them to be?"

Luther moved Allison in front of both of us and began helping her up the stairs, "Strong enough to contain high energy blasts!"

"Energy blasts? From what?"

"Vanya."

I followed Luther up the stairs, "Vanya? I thought Five said she didn't have any powers!"

"She didn't," Luther helped Allison to the top of the stairs, "At least, we didn't think she did, but she does and she's the one who cut Allison's throat and is attacking the academy!"

The way he suddenly turned his sister into the enemy was off putting to me, like he was deflecting from something else. He had always been the protector, I didn't need to know him very long to know that. He was the one who felt responsible for protecting the family, even the sister he presumed was ordinary. She wasn't his enemy, but he made her out to be, and that was suspicious.

"Luther, what did you do?" I shouted.

Allison glared at Luther as he rolled his eyes, "What I had to do!"

"I have a hard time believing that!"

"It doesn't matter," Luther blocked Allison from getting hit with falling debris, "We need to stop Vanya, and the only way to do that is if you contain her!"

I didn't like it, but I knew I had no choice. If Vanya suddenly had powers she didn't know about before, I could just imagine how terrified she must be. Powers could easily get out of control if you didn't know how to use them, and she had spent thirty years of her life oblivious to the fact that she even had powers.

"Fine!" I stretched my fingers out, "I'll hold her for as long as I can, you make sure everyone gets out fast."

Luther jumped up to stand next to Allison on the top of the stairs, "Good luck, Clove."

"I've got all the luck I need," I grinned at him and winked, "I'm the Lucky Clover."

Turning on the stairs, I could see Vanya's shadow moving across the floor beneath me. More explosions echoed, this time much closer than the last. I could see the fire flickering across the floor as the nearby walls crumbled.

I jumped off of the stairs and landed just a few feet behind her, "Vanya!"

The girl in question spun around and I had to keep myself from gasping. The Vanya I had met just eight days ago was gone, replaced with a ghostly version of herself. Her skin had lost all color, turning a pale white that almost looked sickly. Even her eyes had turned white with only the tiniest hints of black. Tendrils of white ghost-like energy swirled around her head, making her hair move all on its own, but that wasn't the scariest part about her.

She didn't seem human anymore. Any part of her that might have been connected to the world was gone, now she was left with nothing but rage and fear. I could see it in her eyes and feel it every time I looked at her. She wasn't Vanya, she was The White Violin and that was a being of nothing but rage, fear, and, most of all, pain.

"Vanya, please," I parted my hands at my sides in an act of vulnerability, "Who did this to you?"

She glanced back at the exploding bedrooms of her siblings, "They did."

"They're your family, Vanya."

"I thought so too, turns out they never were," Vanya spun to glare at me, "Do you have any idea what it's like to be forgotten? To be left behind? To be unloved? To be- just- ordinary?"

The energy flying around her got even stronger as she spoke. I raised my hands gently, doing my best to play peacekeeper before I ever had to play containment. I had spent too many years being violent, I think it was time to try peace for once.

"I can't say I know what you're going through because I don't," I tried my best to talk to her, "But I do know what it's like to be left behind, and this is not the way to deal with it. Please, Vanya, stop this before you do something you'll regret."

Right then, I knew I said something wrong. The energy began to fly even faster as she clenched her fists. Her eyes seemed to glow and her face got even paler, "You have no idea about regret."

Her energy began to fly out in all directions. Before it could get very far, I flung my hands out and a shield appeared around Vanya. Her energy was strong, and it required something strong to contain it. My energy stitched itself together into a shield unlike any I had created before. This one was big, concentrated, and thick. I put all of my energy into that shield, making it to where it was so thick, I could barely see Vanya screaming inside of it.

For a moment, the house stopped crumbling. It seemed like all of Vanya's energy was trapped in the little bubble I made, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. Her energy was ten times stronger than mine, and she could easily break through my shield. Already, she was scraping at the innermost layers, all while glaring daggers into me.

Two pairs of footsteps ran around the corner. All of my focus went into maintaining the shield as Diego and Klaus appeared next to me. Diego clapped my shoulder and grinned, "Clove, that's amazing!"

"It's so blue," Klaus muttered, "How are you doing that?"

I tightened my fingers in order to keep a better grip on the shield, "Can't talk, too focused."

When Vanya saw Klaus and Diego, her anger grew immeasurably as she screamed at the top of her lungs. More energy flew out of her body and began chipping away at the insides of my shield. I could feel it breaking even before the cracks were visible. Putting more force into it, I spoke through gritted teeth, "I can't hold it much longer, you need to get everyone out."

"What about you?" Klaus gasped.

Diego curled his fists, "We aren't leaving you, Clove."

"There's no choice, right now I'm the only thing containing her energy," I couldn't tear my eyes away from Vanya.

"If she gets out," Klaus breathed, "She'll kill you."

"We aren't leaving you to die, Clove," Diego grimaced.

I frowned, feeling the shield reach its breaking point, "There's no time, her energy is too strong."

"Clove-"

"Go! Now!"

I left no space for them to argue. Sucking in a deep breath, Diego grabbed Klaus' arm and they began to sprint out of the academy. The entire time, I put my all into containing Vanya. I could feel my body slowly eating away at itself, withering away from the inside out as all of my energy was used on that shield. Everything I had went into containing Vanya, but it was all for nothing.

One tendril of her energy broke through my shield and the entire thing shattered like glass. As she screamed, sending out energy blasts to explode the entire floor, all I could think was how desperately I hoped everyone got out. I had survived the end of the world once before, the destruction of the academy was nothing compared to that. I wasn't worried for my own life, but for the lives of Diego, Allison, Klaus, Pogo, Grace, and Luther. As long as they got out alright, everything would be okay.

Vanya exploded every wall surrounding us. Even the floor caved in on itself, making me fall down into the kitchen. I crashed into the table, making it splinter into two and dropping me straight onto the concrete floors. Pain flared all over my entire body, particularly my head and ribs. I could feel the concussion before it started, and I could've sworn I felt every rib crack. Rolling over in the debris, I groaned, "That's going to hurt in the morning."

Any sounds of life had been drowned out by explosions. I strained to hear if anyone still remained in the house, but it was nearly impossible through the catastrophes happening all around me. As I pulled myself out from the ruins of the table, the explosions stopped, if only for a moment. I found that even more suspicious as I did my best to pull myself to my feet.

The house was eerily quiet for barely two minutes. What had been a disaster zone just moments before turned into the eerie silence of a graveyard. I stumbled forward, grabbing onto the broken wall making up the door in an effort to get upstairs. My shield might not have contained Vanya the first time, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

Once again, the explosions started like a lightswitch had suddenly been flipped on. I had just made it to the stairs when another loud explosion caused the entire hall to crumble. I fell onto my knees and spun around just in time to see the ceiling and walls beginning to cave in on me. My reflexes kicked in and I threw up a shield just in time for the entire house to come crumbling down on top of me.

The entire thing reminded me too much of the apocalypse. Once again, I was protected under a shield as the entire world came crumbling down around me. Debris crashed onto my shield, making the entire thing shudder and me to cover my ears with my hands. All I could see was pieces of house falling onto my shield and slowly stacking up around me.

By the time it stopped, my shield had shrunken three sizes and was cracked all around. I still wasn't fully replenished from all the energy I exerted on Allison's shield, and it took even more energy to make Vanya's shield. It felt like I was completely empty of all energy, at any moment, I expected my body to begin eating itself. As I laid there, spread eagle, underneath thousands of pounds of debris, my shield began to flicker and vanish completely.

The debris shifted and settled, but never once fell on top of me. I was in my own little alcove with no way to get out. The debris was much too heavy for me to lift, despite the fact that I could see the streetlight shining from a hole just above my head. Water dripped out of a broken pipe and I could hear the crackling of a fire nearby.

For a few moments, I just laid there. I began to wonder if that was where I was going to die, buried beneath mountains of debris all alone. After all I had been through, it was a hell of a way to go, but not one I ever expected. I had expected to be shot way before something like this happened. Yet, there I was, lying in a growing puddle of water and making my peace with death.

My story had not yet been finished, however. When the dripping water remained the only sound within earshot, I finally thought it was over. I closed my eyes just in time to hear muffled voices shouting, "Clove!"

Footsteps cracked over the debris. Through the tiny hole above my head, I could see a shadow pass as someone knelt near my own mountain. The debris shifted slightly, causing me to wince.

"Hey! Over here!" a voice I identified as Diego's shouted, "I found her hat!"

More footsteps came followed by a voice I knew to be Klaus', "What's that doing here?"

"She has to be around here somewhere, she never takes the damn thing off."

"Maybe she's buried," Klaus was standing right above my small peephole then.

Another voice joined the ground, "Where was it?"

For a moment, there was silence. I could hear footsteps crunching in the debris as someone grunted. A hand appeared in the tiny hole, and my eyes widened as they began to lift the debris straight off of me. It shifted slightly, causing me to wince and instinctively curl into a ball to protect myself.

Light shined on my body as several voices shouted, "Clove!"

Two sets of hands grabbed me under my arms and began to pull me out. I opened my eyes just enough to see Klaus and Diego standing above me. Luther dropped the beams he lifted off of me and hurried to stand behind them with Allison. Diego knelt next to me and patted my cheek slightly, "Come on, Clove, stay with us."

"I feel like shit," I grumbled.

Diego grinned and glanced up at his siblings, "She's fine."

"What about Pogo?" Klaus glanced up at Luther and Allison, "He's got to be around here somewhere too, right?"

Luther glanced at the ground, "Pogo didn't make it."

"Ho-how do you know?" Diego looked up at his brother.

"I saw Vanya kill him, she threw him against the elk in the living room."

"Vanya?" Klaus gasped, "No, she wouldn't-"

"I saw her."

Allison crossed her arms across her middle and frowned deeply. Diego rocked back on his heels, running a hand over his hair, "First Mom. Now Pogo."

There was a moment of silence that washed over the siblings. I gently pushed myself up, moving to a sitting position despite seeing nothing but stars. No matter how much I rubbed them, the stars refused to go away.

"Guys!" a familiar voice shouted.

I spun around quickly to see Five frantically crawling over the debris. He had a newspaper gripped tightly in his hand. As soon as my eyes landed on him, I exclaimed, "Five!"

He instantly spun around to face me, "Clove!"

He was at my side in a second, pulling me into an embrace. I gratefully fell into his embrace, squeezing him tightly as if I were scared he would vanish once again. After all that just happened, I was glad to see someone familiar.

"Where the hell have you been?" Luther demanded.

"Doesn't matter," Five waved the newspaper with one hand while keeping his hand latched onto my arm, "The apocalypse is still on, the world ends today."

Had I been drinking something, I would have choked, "What?! I thought we stopped it."

"We failed."

He handed the newspaper to me and I opened it while still keeping a tight grip on his arm. When I saw the headline, I gasped, "It's the same headline."

"I thought you said it was over," Luther demanded.

"I was wrong and the headline proves it," Five took the paper from me and held it up, "This is the exact paper with the exact same headline I found when I arrived in the apocalypse. This is how I found out what day it happened."

Diego ran a hand down his face, "The timeline could have changed since its been published."

"You don't understand, I thought the academy was destroyed with the rest of the world, now I know it was destroyed first," Five tightened his grip on my arm, "Harold Jenkins wasn't the cause of the apocalypse. He was the fuse, Vanya is the bomb. The world is going to end if we don't stop her."

All of my muscles turned to fire as adrenaline coursed through me. I could have easily forgotten about my concussion and broken ribs under the threat of the apocalypse returning. We should have known it wouldn't be that easy, it could never be that easy. Not after all of this time, not after all of this work.

We were interrupted by a helicopter flying over and distant sirens. The authorities were on their way and, if they found us here, we would be headed downtown for sure. They would have too many questions we didn't have time to answer. Gripping Five's arm, I muttered, "Five, we need to get out of here."

"She's right," Five stood and began to help me up, "We have to go and we have to go now."

Luther grabbed Allison's arm as he shouted, "Everyone split! We regroup at the superstar!"

I didn't have time to see everyone run off in different directions, because Five flung one of my arms around his shoulders and warped us several blocks away. We reappeared in an alleyway where the sirens were just a distant sound, and the lights were no longer visible. Five kept a tight grip on my arm as we hobbled through the alleys.

"Shit," Five kicked an empty can, sending it soaring through the alleyway.

I wrapped one of my arms around my chest, "I thought we ended it."

"I did too. Shit, I never would have expected Vanya."

Glancing up at the sky, I saw the moon nearly in an all too familiar position, "Five."

"What?"

"The moon," I hesitated, "It's almost in the same spot."

He followed my gaze, "What are you talking about, Clove?"

"It's in the exact same spot as the time of the apocalypse," I turned to face him, "We only have a few hours left at best."

Five stared at me for a moment before quickening our pace. He began to warp even more often in order to get us to our destination faster. When we appeared in the parking lot outside of the obscenely lit building, I wrinkled my nose, "A bowling alley?"

"We used to come here as kids," Five hobbled both of us through the parking lot.

"Great," I sighed, "The end of the world, and we're going bowling."


	28. Being Dumb Feat. My Equally Dumb Best Friend

The last place I expected to be during the end of the world was lane three at Superstar bowling alley. The entire building reeked of pizza, outdated cheese, and feet making it the last place I wanted to be. As if pouring salt into an already burning wound, there was a child's birthday party occupying the lane right next to ours. Every cheer, shout, and screech they made sent flares of pain rocketing through my cranium.

We all sat in a tight circle around the bowling ball returner. Five was bent over in the seat next to me tying his bowling shoes as I nibbled on a pretzel we got at the food stand. The shield I made to contain Vanya took a lot out of me, and there was no doubt in my mind I would have to make another one. Without any time to stop and rest, an extra salty pretzel was the best I could manage.

When Five sat back up, I rested my head on his shoulder and leaned into his side. He shifted slightly to make both of us more comfortable as he looked down at me worriedly. My head was throbbing and the entire thing seemed to be expanding beyond my skull. I felt like it might explode at any moment and there would be bits of me scattered all across the bowling lanes. Stars continued to bounce across my vision, flickering and dancing like they were desperately trying to find the sky. As I nibbled on my pretzel, I felt like I might throw it all back up.

"Are you alright?" Five gently felt my forehead.

I wasn't sure what made it harder to hear him, the ringing in my ears or the fog slowly growing thicker in my head, "What?"

"Clove, you have a concussion," he noticed how hard I winced when he moved to see me better, "And I think your ribs are broken."

I took a bite of my pretzel and frowned, "We've got more important things to focus on."

There was no pause button for the end of the world. I couldn't take time to heal when Vanya was going to destroy the world in a matter of hours. The best I could do was power through and hope I had enough strength to summon a shield strong enough to contain her when the time arose.

Five kept checking on me periodically, though I wasn't sure if he was doing it because he was worried about me or if he was reassuring himself that I hadn't died yet. Perhaps it was a bit of both, I caught myself making sure he was still there every so often as well. Just seeing him there wasn't enough, just seeing anyone there wasn't enough. Five kept a tight grip on one of my arms as I kept leaning on his side. Every so often, Klaus would bump my leg with his accidentally, and I'd release just a little bit of tension in my shoulders. They were all still there, and they were alright.

It was an odd sight I'm sure; four grown adults and two kids sitting at a bowling lane but never actually bowling. With Diego sitting on the back of the chair with his legs where his butt should be, and Five and I practically commandeering an entire row of seats, it was a wonder we hadn't been kicked out yet. If our sitting positions didn't get us, Luther's pacing surely would.

"Look, I hate to be the one to say this," Luther hesitated, "But everyone needs to prepare."

Diego flung his head up, his glare enough to cut Luther into pieces without him ever having to touch his knives, "For what?"

"To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya."

Allison hit Luther in the shoulder as Klaus laughed, "Oh, I'm sure you would love that! As if locking her up and possibly causing the end of the world wasn't bad enough!"

"She needs our help," Diego spat, "And you want us to kill her?"

"Hey, I never said kill," Luther argued.

Allison hit Luther again, her glare saying everything she couldn't. I never once looked up from my pretzel as I spoke, "I vote Luther doesn't get to be leader anymore."

"You don't get a vote, okay, I'm the leader of this family and I always have been," Luther retorted.

"I'm with Clove on this one," Diego continued to glare at his brother, "We've all seen where your leadership got us too."

"I did what I had to do."

"You locked up our sister when she needed us the most."

Luther stopped pacing and sneered, "Look, none of that matters anymore, okay? We have to focus on the mission at hand."

"He's right," Five interjected, making everyone look at him, "The apocalypse is in a matter of hours, and we have to stop Vanya before she has a chance to end the entire world."

I glanced up at him, "Five, she's your sister."

"That's why we have to find her," Five glanced at all of us individually, "I don't want to hurt Vanya, but we have to stop the apocalypse. Maybe there's a way to save both Vanya and the world, I don't know, but we have to find her first."

Luther ran a hand across his hair, "How? She could be anywhere in the city by now!"

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say she's at the Icarus Theater," Klaus spun the paper he was reading around, "For her first concert solo."

There, as the only colored ad in the entire paper, was Vanya smiling and advertising her first ever solo. She actually looked like Vanya in that photo, and not some malevolent, angry superhero gone sour. For a moment, I could easily believe the Vanya all of her siblings so desperately wanted to rescue was right there. Most of all, I could believe we had a chance.

"Her concert is tonight," Diego breathed.

Five looked over the ad, "That's where she has to be, Vanya's never missed a concert. It's not like her."

"Sorry to intrude," the young girl working at the food stand came up to us, "But, my manager says, if you're not going to bowl then you have to leave."

I glanced back at her just in time to see her shrug and walk away. Across the room, the manager was giving us the stink eye as he slammed a pair of bowling shoes on the counter. Clicking my tongue, I muttered, "He's crankier than you."

"You're hilarious, Clove," Five rolled his eyes.

Diego groaned, "Who's turn is it?"

Luther never once broke eye contact with the manager as he grabbed a bowling ball and flung it across the lanes. It crossed over so many lanes it was no longer within our area. The bounces echoed through the whole building and nobody cheered when Luther got a strike.

Alison scribbled a note on her paper and held it up to Luther, 'She's our sister!'

"We have to stop her," Luther argued.

"If there's a chance to save her, I know none of us will hesitate to take it," Five twiddled his thumbs, "This is the end of the world we're talking about, seven billion lives versus just one. If it comes to it, we have to stop her."

"This is bullshit," Diego began to pace instead of Luther.

I glanced up at Five, my voice cracking as I whispered, "Five."

"We don't have a choice," he refused to meet my eyes, "I wish it wasn't Vanya, but the fate of the entire world is on the line. This is all we've been working for."

I couldn't believe this was Five speaking and not the assassin in him. Vanya was Five's favorite sibling, he had told me time and time again, and his love for her was evident in every story he told. He wouldn't hurt Vanya, he couldn't hurt Vanya, and I didn't think he had it in him to deal the final blow.

"She's not lost yet," I gripped Five's arm, partially speaking to him and partially speaking to the rest of the family, "She's still your sister and she still loves you just as I know you all love her. There has to be a way to save the world and save Vanya in the process."

Allison pointed at me furiously, all while glaring at Luther. The man in question shook his head, "We have a responsibility to the world and to Dad, if-"

"No, nuh-uh, I'm sick of you and your Daddy issues!" Diego exclaimed, "He's dead, Luther, get over it!"

"He brought us together, he sacrificed everything!"

"Will you two shut up?" Five interrupted, "Arguing is going to do nothing. The fact remains that we have to stop Vanya- no matter what it takes."

Klaus slowly raised his hand, "Hey- uh, maybe I could help?"

Everyone suddenly turned to him. The arguing ceased as they all stared at him. It was Luther who spoke first, "We don't have time for your shit, Klaus."

"Hey, hey!" Diego pointed at Luther, "Let him speak. He saved my life today."

Klaus stood up and wrung his hands together shamefully. His eyes drifted to something just behind Five and me, but, when I looked, there was nothing and nobody there. Glancing back at the group, he muttered, "Yeah I-I took credit for it. The real hero, the one who saved Diego's life and mine, is Ben."

Everyone was silent. I had never met Ben but he was in every single one of Five's stories. He was the member the Umbrella Academy had lost, his death too horrific to even speak of. I didn't know how he died, those that did couldn't bring themselves to talk about it even all those years later.

At the mention of their dead sibling, they all fell into a mournful silence. Allison wrapped her arms around herself and looked like she might cry all while Diego stared at Klaus in disbelief. Even Five looked like he wanted to believe Klaus but he just couldn't. He shifted slightly in his seat, keeping an even tighter grip on my arm.

"Klaus, come on-" Luther began.

"No, wait, listen to me," Klaus raised his hands, "Today, Ben punched me in the face. He punched me, and he grabbed Diego to pull him out of the way of the wreckage."

Luther shook his head, "You never know when to stop, do you?"

"What, you want proof? I'll show you proof."

Klaus grabbed a bowling ball and shook out his shoulders. As he gazed at the empty spot right next to me, I became slightly nervous. Five must have sensed it too because he moved one seat over, pulling me with him. We were just out of range whenever Klaus threw the bowling ball.

It went straight through the air and landed on the ground with a thud, rolling underneath the nearby table. All of us stared at him as he ran his hands down the back of his head and released a loud exhale. His cheeks became tinged with red as all eyes were on him.

"Is there anyway to silence that voice in your head that screams out for attention?" Luther demanded.

Klaus glared at him, "You know, I liked you a lot better before you got laid!"

Deafening silence fell over the group. Five and I exchanged glances, with me wrinkling my nose as Five chuckled with me. Diego turned to Luther and smirked, "Was that your first time?"

"Wha- I, um," Luther stuttered.

Diego grinned mischievously, "Congrats, man, somehow getting laid made you even more of an asshole."

Standing right next to Luther, Allison was wide-eyed as she slowly turned to stare at her brother. Luther seemed to shift under her gaze uncomfortably. He turned to Allison and began to speak, "Allison, wait- no!"

She stormed off, only stopping when she made it to a table all the way across the building. Luther fumbled after her, calling apologies and excuses the entire way. I peered over Five's shoulder to watch them, "What's up with that?"

"Long story," Five ran a hand down his face, "Trust me, you don't want to know."

I glanced at his face and instantly put two and two together. Wrinkling my nose once again, I nearly gagged, "They're siblings!"

"I told you you wouldn't want to know."

Diego and Klaus both fell to sit side-by-side in total silence. We could all hear Luther stumbling over his words as he talked to Allison, but I couldn't quite make out what exactly he was saying. Releasing a deep exhale, I leaned on Five's shoulder once again and shut my eyes.

"Excuse me," I opened my eyes to see a woman with her son walking up to us, "It's my son Kenny's birthday today, and- wouldn't your children be happier playing with kids their own age? Assuming it's okay with your two dads?"

All of us stared at her for a moment trying to comprehend what she said. When I finally remembered I was in the body of a thirteen-year-old, I had to stifle a laugh. Klaus and Diego exchanged glances making me wonder if the two brothers often got mistaken for a married couple. Five turned to the woman slowly and gave her the same smile he bore whenever he was doing his best to hide his anger, "I would rather chew off my own foot."

"What my brother means to say," I shifted forward so the lady could see my smiling face, "Is that we are grateful for the offer, but it's family bonding time. Our dads would be heartbroken if we left them all alone."

The woman frowned deeply, ushering her son away. Turning to me, Five frowned, "We're not children."

"They don't know that," I smiled at my friend, "We have to play the part, Five."

"This is ridiculous."

Diego buried his face in his hands, "If I was going to date a man, you would be the last man I would date."

"You'd be lucky to get me," Klaus snorted as he jumped up to get a bowling ball.

Five and I watched them somberly before a sound interrupted both of our thoughts. It was painfully familiar, just hearing that sound brought back so many memories. I could hear the gunshots and the screams of our victims. The clicking and whooshing sound of a tube being delivered from The Commission brought more pain with it than a gunshot ever did, because that tube always told us who we had to kill next.

"It can't be," I muttered.

Five stood up and offered a hand to help me up, "Who else could it be?"

I took his hand and he helped pull me to my feet. As Diego and Klaus bickered, we stumbled over to the nearby ball return. The blue light shined ever so dimly on the metal rods used to return the ball. As Five reached in for the tube, I kept a grip on his shoulder, watching the entire time.

The golden tube was slightly worn down from years of use. On the front, a white label held the name of the recipient. Five flipped it over and tilted his head, "It's addressed to me."

"Just you?" I tilted my head.

Five nodded, "What is she playing at?"

"How did she find you?"

Five's eyes widened. He dug in his pocket and brought out a handful of candies wrapped in small white wrappers. The very first one he unwrapped wasn't a candy at all, but a small metal cylinder with a green blinking light. I gasped, "A tracker."

"She's smart," Five dropped the tracker and squished it with his foot, "I'll give her that."

"There's a difference between smart and cunning, and she is the latter."

Another whoosh was heard followed by a clank. As Five undid the top of his tube, I dug out the second one. Rolling it over in my hand, I furrowed my eyebrows, "This one is for me."

"She knows we're together," Five dumped the fortune cookie in his tube into his hand, "And she still sends us two separate tubes? She's up to something."

I dug a similar fortune cookie out of my tube and broke it, "She's always up to something."

There was small handwriting on the top of the fortune. The Handler's handwriting was just as neat as the rest of her, with precise strokes and perfect loops. I read over the address with a frown, "Rain Quail Motel, Room Eleven."

"I got Room Twelve," Five waved his paper over his shoulder, "She knows we're close, she must be trying to stop us somehow."

I stuffed my paper in my pocket and frowned, "If she wanted to stop us, she would've sent more assassins to shoot us already."

"Then, why call us now? And why call us to two separate rooms right next door to each other?"

"The Handler is full of tricks but they all come with reason," I propped myself up on the ball return, "I hate to say it, but I think we should go."

Five glanced up at me, "Clove, it's obviously a trap."

"Clearly, and she's obviously trying to separate us," I responded, "We've run out of options."

"She wouldn't be calling us if we weren't close," Five glanced down at the paper in his hand, "Maybe she could tell us our next move."

"I don't think we have a choice, Five."

"Alright," Five glanced up and met my eyes, "But I don't like it."

"When have we ever done something we liked?"

Five offered a weak chuckle before grabbing my hand. With a small blip, we vanished from the bowling alley without anyone being the wiser.


	29. Let's NOT Wipe Out Humankind

The motel was small and smelled of rotten fish. Compared to what the Commission usually put their corrections agents in, it was The Ritz. The maroon carpet in the halls had no stains and seemed to be vacuumed daily. Even the pictures hung on the dull green walls had barely a speck of dust on them, they weren't even crooked.

"This place is nice," I muttered as we walked down the hall.

The lights were a sort of warm yellow, the kind you would expect in a house not a motel. I expected mold to ooze out of the paneling on the wall, but nothing came. It was nice, almost too nice.

"It's suspicious," Five voiced both of our concerns, "The Commission never pays for motels this nice."

I tugged at the strings of my hat, "I didn't know there were motels this nice."

"There shouldn't be."

We arrived at a corner. On one end of a long hall. Room number eleven was ready and waiting for me to arrive. On the opposite end of the hall, room number twelve was waiting for Five. Both of us stalled at the end of the hall.

"If anything happens, scream and I'll be at your side in a heartbeat," he turned to face me, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

I smiled at him, "Ditto. One shout and I'll be at your side."

"I still don't like it," he glanced at the door for room eleven, "She's separating us on purpose."

I placed my hands on his shoulders and made him look at me, "We have to go, Five, we've come this far."

Part of me wondered if this was a bad idea, the rest of me was sure it was. Nothing good ever came out of meetings with The Handler, and I knew this would be no different. Yet, we were here, out of curiosity or desperation I might never know.

"It's now or never," I smiled, "Good luck, Five."

Five began to walk towards room twelve, "I don't need luck."

I tilted my head as he spun around to walk backwards and wink, "I've got the Lucky Clover."

"That's my thing!" I laughed, "You can't go around stealing my bits."

Five gave me one last wink and a laugh before vanishing into room twelve. I waited for the door to shut behind him to turn to my own door. Vaguely, it occurred to me that only one of us could be meeting The Handler. She might have all of time and space at her disposal, but even she couldn't be in two places at once. The Handler was waiting for one of us behind one of those doors, and, behind the other could be anything.

Sucking in a deep breath, I pushed open the door. The room was dark, and got even darker when I shut the door behind me. It was supernaturally silent, as if someone had worked very hard to make sure it was that quiet.

The only light came from a small night light across the room. From that light, I could see the silhouette of a lamp blocking it from the rest of the room. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I fumbled my way over there. Before I even turned on the light, I became keenly aware that I wasn't the only one in that room.

When I turned on the light, I instantly wished I didn't. The entire room was filled with Temps assassins all pointing machine guns at me. Their night vision goggles stared at me blankly, and their bright orange suits contrasted greatly with the dark walls. In the back of my mind, I realized the wallpaper was much thicker and harder than it should be. The Commission had many tools at its disposal, some of which were perfect for soundproofing a room in seconds.

"Shit," I muttered as the soldiers began shooting.

Every single gun in the room went off and they never once stopped. Everything went much too fast for me to stop and question why they didn't start shooting at me before I turned on the lights. I flung up my shield just in time for millions of bullets to come raining down on me all at once. All of the machine guns kept shooting as Temps agents advanced on me.

My instincts kicked in and I didn't have time to stop and think about it. Adrenaline coursed through my body, temporarily dampening the pain of my concussion and broken ribs. I could feel nothing as I dove straight into the fight.

I opened my shield just enough to come flying out and kick one of the machine guns from a nearby Temp soldier's hands. The gun hit the ground by my feet and I lifted it and started shooting. Several Temps agents went down, but it seemed like even more took their place. I had barely made a dent by the time I ran out of bullets.

"What the hell is this?!" I shouted as I moved my shield and went straight for the soldiers.

I made shields that flung them against the wall and some that took their guns and cut off their air. As I fought them, half of my mind had to go into the shield protecting me from the rain of bullets. If it even went down for a second I would be hit.

I used my shield like a bowling ball to knock several soldiers into themselves. They shot each other in the process. The others all kept shooting and I had to bring my shield back up.

Sweat created droplets on my forehead as I was slowly getting drained of any and all energy I had. As I flung my arms out to either side of my head, my shield solidified and I paused to catch my breath. The soldiers kept shooting and only then did I realize what they were shooting at.

Usually, when someone was shooting at me, that aimed at one spot. Their bullets would all hit the same general area on my shield, most likely one that covered my heart or my head. These Temps soldiers fired everywhere, however. Some even had their guns aimed at the shield above my head to where, even if their bullets made it through, they would never hit me.

"You're not shooting at me," I gasped, "You're shooting at my shield."

They continued to shoot at all areas of my shield, making it crack and break like glass. My mind ran a thousand miles an hour as I watched them. They weren't shooting to kill me, they were shooting to take down my shield. Surely they knew as soon as one shield fell I would throw up another.

Perhaps that is exactly what they wanted. If they knew how my shields work, how any superpowers worked, they would know it relied on the energy of the person in control. My shields relied on my energy, they were made with my energy, and if I made too many all of that energy would run out. As is, I came into this battle with low-energy and it was getting lower.

That was their plan. They never planned to kill me, they planned to tire me out. All at once, it hit me, The Handler had called us here to stall us. She brought us to two separate rooms so she could stall Five and drain me of all energy. She must have known I could protect myself and the Hargreeves' from whatever was going to come from the sky and destroy the world, and she wanted to make sure I didn't have enough energy to make that shield.

I had to get out of there. The Handler wanted my energy to run dry and I was determined not to let her. Grinning, I glared at the soldiers, "This has been fun and all, but, if you're not going to kill me, then there's really no point."

I flung out my hands and my shield exploded, sending all of the soldiers flying into each other. It wasn't enough to stop them from shooting, but it was enough to make them forget what they were shooting at.

I jumped onto a nearby couch and launched myself above the soldiers. Landing in a roll by the door, I sprung up and flung the door open. They didn't have enough time to even turn to look at me as I shouted, "Hasta la vista, dipshits!"

The door slammed behind me and I sprinted across the hall. I could hear the soldiers yelling as they crawled over themselves in an effort to get to the door. Before they could even open it, I had flung open the door of room twelve and ran inside.

I slammed the door behind me and pressed myself up against it, out of breath. Five spun around to face me, "Clove, you're covered in blood."

The Handler leaned back on the couch with a glass of wine. She smirked at me, swishing the liquid in her glass expectantly. I could see Agnes, the waitress from the donut shop, tied to a chair nearby. She stared at me with wide, terrified eyes, but I didn't have enough time to ask why she was there.

"You are an absolute snake!" I shouted as I pushed off the door and stomped over to The Handler, "You called us here just to stall us, didn't you?"

Five spun on The Handler, "What?"

"She sent me into a trap. A room full of Temps assassins there to ambush me."

"It seems like my little secret is out in the open now," The Handler sighed, "I do hope you didn't kill them all, good assassins are so hard to find these days."

"You're lucky I didn't."

Five put an arm out to stop me from attacking her right then and there, "What's your game, Handler?"

"You're smart, Five, I would've thought you already put that together," she sipped her drink as if she was the most innocent person in the world.

I dug my nails into my palm to keep myself from shouting, "The assassins weren't there to kill me, they were running down my energy."

"So you can't make a shield," Five glanced at me before turning back to The Handler, "They were going to come after me next, weren't they?"

The Handler shrugged, "Only if you didn't accept my offer."

"You were going to kill us!"

"No, she wasn't," I interrupted, "The assassins weren't shooting to kill, they were shooting to stall."

The Handler smirked, "It took you long enough. Honestly, I would expect you to figure it out faster. Your family's lives are on the line, after all!"

"What did you do to my family?" this time it was my turn to hold Five back as he shouted.

"Nothing," The Handler smirked, "What's meant to be is meant to be, you just had to learn that the hard way."

Five looked like he wanted to shout an endless string of curses at The Handler, as did I, but we were out of time. The rest of the academy were out fighting for their lives, possibly fighting for the lives of the entire world, and the longer we stood here talking, the less time they had.

"Shit," Five breathed.

The Handler threw her head back and laughed as Five wasted no time in warping us both out. I barely registered that he had grabbed my wrist before we were running along the streets. We just barely landed and we were already sprinting down the streets, all the while Five was holding my hand.

As he curled in his shoulders and set his jaw, I recognized he was about to warp. I grabbed his arm and shouted, "Five, stop!"

"We don't have time for this, Clove!" he shouted as we kept running, "We have to get to the theater!"

"And we don't know what we're going to face when we get there, you have to save your energy!"

Five looked reluctant but he didn't argue with me. I kept a tight grip on his hand as we sprinted down the streets. If I let go, I might not run anymore. The world was catching up on me and if I didn't faint within the next ten minutes, it would be a miracle.

We heard the gunshots before we even made it outside the theater. The second he heard the gunshots, Five forgot everything I told him. He gripped my hand tighter and warped us both inside the theater.

"Five!" I shouted as we appeared in the aisles.

"Did you want to get shot?" he shouted back.

Luther's voice rang over a new chorus of gunshots, "Five! Clove! Get down!"

In the corners of my eye, I could see Temp agents just like the ones I met in the motel room surrounding us. All of their guns were trained on us and I vaguely registered they already shot. Flinging up my hands, I created a shield that protected Five and me.

"And you're yelling at me to save my energy?" Five flung up his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a bleeding hypocrite!" I rolled my eyes, "Just get down!"

We both dove behind the seats right next to Allison. I was able to drop my shield as the seats protected us just enough. Five pressed himself against the seats as I did my best to hide under them. The entire time, we kept a tight grip on each other's arms.

The assassins were our most present threat, but they weren't the only threat. Deadly violin music filled the theater as Vanya played through her entire concert. With every note she played, the energy flying around her got stronger and stronger. It was like a miniature tornado in the room, throwing around anything that wasn't nailed down.

"I have had it up to here with these damn assassins!" I shouted.

Diego glanced around Luther, "These belong to you too?"

"I wouldn't quite phrase it that way, but yes!"

"Where the hell have you two been?" Luther demanded, "I thought you bailed on us!"

Five frowned, "I had an errand to run."

"Don't listen to him!" I shouted, "He cares too much, he would never bail!"

"Now is not the time, Clove!"

"I think nearly dying is the best time to tell your family you love them, Five!"

Diego glanced behind us and hit Luther on the shoulder. Five, Allison, and I all followed their gazes to see Klaus dodging gunfire as he ran into the same aisle Five and I were hiding in, "Guys! It's Cha Cha! Cha Cha's coming!"

"Klaus, get down!" Luther shouted the same warning he sent us.

Klaus dove behind the seats as more gunfire rained down on us. Turning from his brother to face me, Five groaned, "This is taking too long!"

"Five, don't-" he warped before I could finish my sentence.

He appeared just a few feet away and jumped onto the back of one of the Temp agents. Without hesitation, I jumped out after him and shielded him from the gunfire suddenly trained on him.

I glanced up just in time to see Klaus slowly rising. His fists glowed blue as he shook, all of his focus put into whatever he was doing. A figure made of the same ghostly blue glow slowly appeared in front of him. What started as just a blurry apparition took a human form. The boy glanced around, eyeing each individual Temps agent, including the one that had just knocked Five off of his back and straight into me. We fell onto the ground and tumbled over each other just as the ghostly boy lifted his shirt.

I landed on my back and could see blue tentacles stretch out from where the ghostly boy stood. They whipped around, picking up each and every Temps agent and flinging them to their deaths. Within seconds, all of the gunfire had stopped and those pulling the triggers were all dead.

"Oh my God," Five had pushed himself up onto his hands to gaze at the ghostly boy, "It's Ben."

I rolled onto my stomach and gazed up at him, "Ben?"

"My brother. He's here."

Had we not been on the verge of the end of the world, I think Five might have started crying. His eyes shone as he gazed at the ghostly figure of the brother he missed so dearly. I rested my hand on his shoulder comfortingly, turning my gaze to Ben.

He took care of the Temps agents without any problems. They were gone as quickly as they had arrived, their bodies littering the theater. When the last agent's neck cracked on the wall, Ben retracted his tentacles into himself and vanished. I heard Klaus groan and mutter, "Now who's the lookout?"

A crumbling sound could barely be heard over Vanya's violin music. I rolled over just in time for a piece of the ornate ceiling to come crashing down on the floor next to me. I jumped up and turned to help Five as I said, "This entire place is going to come down in just a matter of minutes."

"We don't have much time left," Five continued, "We have to stop Vanya and we have to stop her now."

Diego waltzed up behind Luther, "And how do we do that?"

"Oh, welcome back, where the hell were you?" Luther demanded.

"Honoring a memory."

All of us were huddled in the middle of the aisles. We had to jump out of the way and dive behind the seats as even more ceiling fell. Our time was running short, and getting shorter by the second. We huddled behind the seats, every once of us glancing at Vanya.

"How do we end this thing?" Diego asked.

Luther glanced back at Vanya, "We won't even get close with her energy flying all over the place."

"How are we supposed to stop it?"

"I have a plan," Luther connected eyes with me, "Clove, you have to contain her!"

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, cause that worked out so well last time!"

"It's our only chance! You don't have to contain her long, just long enough for us to get to her."

"We don't have a choice," Five turned to face me, "If you can contain her long enough for even one of us to get through, we have a real chance of stopping her!"

I blinked, "If her energy breaks through, none of us are going to survive it. It's a suicide mission!"

"It's a chance we have to take," Five shouted, "Our lives or the lives of everyone on the planet!"

Everyone was somber for just barely a second. Setting my jaw, I nodded, "Alright! My shield won't last long, you'll have a minute at best!"

"That's more than enough time," Luther glanced at all his siblings, "Diego, you go right, I'll go left. Klaus, Five, take her from the front."

Allison glared at Luther as we broke our little huddle. Diego and Klaus both ran off down the aisles, heading towards their spots. Before we could run down the aisle, I grabbed Five's shoulder, "Five, wait!"

"Clove, we're running out of time!" Five turned to face me.

"I know! I know, it's just-" I hesitated, taking a deep breath, "If we don't make it out of this, I want to know, you're my dearest friend in the world and these years together have been the greatest years of my life."

Five stared at me for a moment, turning my words over in his mind. Smiling, he grabbed my elbows and looked me in the eye, "You're the greatest friend I've ever had, Clove. And all we've been through, I'm glad I went through it with you."

He pulled me into a hug which I gratefully accepted. There was lots to say with no time to say it, but I felt like it didn't need to be said. All I wanted to say could be said in the way I squeezed Five like it was the last time.

Our hug was brief but it meant the world. Pulling apart, we gave each other one last smile before Five warped away to his position. I stood, alone, in the center aisle as I turned to face Vanya.

Her powers were growing stronger with every passing minute. They had turned her violin and her clothes as white as her skin, and they all seemed to be getting lighter by the second. Her eyes were on me as I slowly approached the stage, but she never once made a motion to stop me.

"I'm sorry, Vanya!" my voice was drowned out by the energy soaring through the room, "The world mistreated you- you deserve so much better than this."

Her eyes widened as I raised my hands. Before she could lash out with her energy, I created the strongest shield I had ever created in my life. The blue energy coming from me was so thick, I couldn't even see Vanya anymore, but I could feel her. I could feel as she lashed out, sending her energy against my own, and I could feel as my shield quickly began to splinter.

Every shield I ever made was preparing me for that one. It felt like I summoned energy I didn't even have, and my body was already eating away at itself. If I had to hold it for much longer, I wouldn't be surprised if my entire body vanished along with the shield.

I knew I wasn't going to survive this. With the amount of energy this shield took, there was no way I could survive it. I fell to my knees, tears pooling in the corners of my eyes. This shield was going to kill me, but it was okay. If I died, I died knowing my shield helped protect my friends.

My focus was so centered on Vanya, I didn't realize the others were sneaking up on her until it was too late. They were already in my line of vision when Luther shouted, "Now, Clove, let us through!"

I prepared to open holes in the shield just long enough and big enough for each brother to fit through, but that was our downfall. The moment I lessened the energy in four spots on the shield was the moment Vanya broke through those exact spots. Her energy came flying out in white tendrils that shattered my shield like glass and sent me flying across the theater.

I landed on my side and rolled across the aisle. Pushing myself up on my arms, I flung my head up to see Vanya had caught each of her brothers in one of her energy tendrils. She held Luther, Diego, Klaus, and Five in the air and she was sucking the life out of all of them. I couldn't see their withering faces, but I could see their hair steadily going grayer and their skin turning to ash.

"No!" I screamed, my voice cracking, "Five!"

I lunged up to rush to them, but an arm caught me and pulled me down. I fell into a crouch next to Allison who put a finger to her lips. She gestured to Vanya and to the two of us. Holding up a gun, she pointed to herself and then pointed to Vanya.

"You're going to shoot her?" I gasped.

Allison, who had been so adamant about saving Vanya just moments before, slowly nodded. I could see the pain in her eyes even when she tried to hide it. Killing her sister was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew it was the only way to save the world. Resting a hand on her shoulder, I gave her a comforting smile, "You're a hero, Allison, Vanya knows that."

She smiled slightly before shaking her head and pointing to me. Miming a tent above her head, she pointed to herself and Vanya. For a moment, I just stared at her, dumbfounded, "You want me to make a shield around you and Vanya?"

She nodded furiously. I furrowed my eyebrows until her plan suddenly dawned on me, making my entire face light up, "If I contain both of you, her energy has nowhere to go."

Allison clapped and nodded. I grinned, "You go, I've got your back."

Allison vanished around the corner as I stood. Turning my sights on Vanya, I curled my fingers into fists and began to sprint down the main aisle. She saw me, sending tendrils of energy after me, all of which I dodged. Jumping onto the edge of the stage, I flung up my hands and created a shield that cut off her energy.

Luther, Diego, Klaus, and Five all hit the ground behind me. I could hear them groaning and sputtering, but my focus was on Vanya and, more importantly, Allison. I just barely saw Allison standing behind Vanya, the gun held steadily to Vanya's head.

The moments seemed to stretch on, each second turning into decades as I held tightly to the shield. Allison held the gun up, her face set but her eyes holding disbelief. There was her sister, the girl she grew up with, and she had to kill her. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as her stance slowly became less sturdy. Her knees shook, the gun shook in her hand, and she bit her lip.

I watched as she slowly brought the gun around Vanya's head. Holding the barrel to Vanya's ear, she fired, but the bullet never went very far. It didn't have a chance as Vanya stiffened.

Her energy condensed in her chest and shot straight up into the sky in a pure white beam. The force of her energy hitting my shield sent me flying across the theater. I slammed into the wall and slid to the ground.

I couldn't tell if what I was hearing was my heart thudding or my head pounding. Stars danced across my vision, threatening to pull me into the darkness. If any of my ribs were left unbroken, they were surely shattered now, I could practically hear the pieces shake in my chest like some unholy maraca.

There was no time to be hurt. I pushed myself up, grimacing and grumbling the entire way. Grasping onto the back of a chair like it was a lifeline, I pulled my reluctant legs beneath me and pushed myself to stand. As soon as I was upright, I nearly fell back over again from being so light-headed.

I stumbled forward, gripping onto the arms of chairs to keep myself balanced as I made my way down the aisle. Through my blurry vision, I could see the Hargreeves all congregated on the stage. Allison was holding the unconscious Vanya in her lap as Luther and Diego held onto her. Klaus stood nearby, his hands covering his mouth and his legs shaking so hard I was scared he would fall over. Nearby, Five was standing at the edge of the stage and looking around. As soon as his eyes landed on me, he shouted, "Clove!"

He vanished from the stage and reappeared right in front of me. I barely realized what was happening before he was hugging me as if both of our lives depended on it. I practically collapsed into his grip, burying my face into his shoulder and wrapping my arms tightly around his chest. Tears threatened to fall as we stood there, latched onto each other.

"I thought that was it," I sniffled, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Five squeezed me tighter, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I squeezed Five tightly before we pulled apart. He kept a tight grip on me as he warped us to the stage. We ended up right next to his siblings, where he gently sat me down. My head was still spinning and my entire body threatened to give out at any moment. Five sat down next to me and gently wrapped his arms around my shoulders, allowing me to lean on him and close my eyes, "I can't believe we did it."

"We did," he rubbed my shoulder, "It's over."

Nobody really noticed Klaus walking to the edge of the stage. He stood there for a moment, his eyes glued to the hole in the roof and his hands covering his mouth. Shakily, he pointed up, "Uhm, guys, did the moon always look like that?"

I moved my face from Five's shoulder and glanced up. Nobody knew quite what to say as we watched the moon shatter into bits and pieces, all of which were flying straight for Earth. The biggest chunk of all seemed to be heading straight for us.

"Vanya's blast," Diego muttered, "It took out the moon."

As I watched the moon turn black and orange with fire as it flew through Earth's atmosphere, my mind flashed back to the day I stole the briefcase. I couldn't see much, everything was happening so fast, all I knew was that it came from the sky and it came in fire. My blood ran cold as I realized I was looking at the same event, just from a different perspective.

"Five," I gripped my friends' arms tightly, "Five, it was the moon."

"What're you talking about?" Diego demanded.

"The day of the apocalypse," I explained, "I was there, and I saw the sky turn black and orange with fire. I didn't know what made it that way, I thought it was a bomb or something, but it was the moon. This entire time, it was the moon that destroyed the Earth."

The largest chunk of moon was getting steadily closer. We had two minutes at best, perhaps even less than that. All of my nightmares were coming true as I relived the worst day of my life.

"I knew it had something to do with the moon!" Luther shouted, making Allison hit his shoulder.

"We don't have much time," Five glanced down at me, "That thing is going to hit at any minute."

Both of us completely forgot about the rest of his siblings as we dove straight into a conversation. I met his eyes and said, "My shield stopped it last time, I could save all of us."

"But then we would be right back where we started from," Five frowned, "We'd risk running into our future selves, and there's no telling if we could get out of there again."

"If we can't come back, then there's no point in surviving. Not in the apocalypse, not again."

Five gazed at me for a minute more before his eyes widened. His entire face brightened as he gripped tightly to my arms, "We can save the world if we go back."

"What?" I blinked rapidly, "Five, you've never taken that many people through time."

"It's a chance, it's our only chance."

He was right, I knew he was right. My shield might be able to save us, but the rest of the world was doomed. We would be stuck right back in the apocalypse, and this time, The Handler wouldn't come to get us out. There was only one choice left.

"I have an idea," Five jumped up and turned back to help me up as he spoke, "It's risky, but it's a chance."

Luther glanced up, "What is it?"

"We can use my abilities of time travel and go back before any of this happened. We could have another chance to stop it."

His siblings all stared at us. I leaned against Five, doing my best to ignore the stars dancing in my vision, as he desperately waited for his siblings to reply. Diego glanced between all of his siblings and shrugged, "What's the worst that can happen?"

"You're looking at it," Five gestured between us, "Two fifty-eight year olds in thirteen year-old bodies."

Klaus glanced at Diego and shrugged, "I'm in."

"Me too," Diego stood.

Allison nodded as Luther sighed, "Alright, let's do it."

"Luther, grab Vanya," Five beckoned them forward, "Everyone else, hold hands!"

I held one of Five's hands as Klaus grabbed my other hand. Luther gently picked up Vanya and stepped between Allison and Diego. All of us made our own tiny circle as Luther frowned, "Should we really bring her? She started all this."

Once again, Allison hit him as Five rolled his eyes, "We don't have time for this, Luther!"

"It's getting closer," my eyes were on the huge chunk of moon flying towards us, "Five, we need to go."

He followed my gaze and nodded. Strengthening his stance, he shouted, "Everyone hold on!"

A familiar sort of wind began to swirl around all of us, nearly taking my hat off in the process. I glanced up to watch Five's portal slowly spark to life. Swirling masses of blue energy expanded above us until it was perfectly surrounding us all. We were in our own little cyclone that could spin through all of time and space.

Five's face was tense as he put all of his effort into opening the portal. I could feel it tugging at me, pulling me into another time in a way I was much too familiar with. We were almost there.

I glanced away from the portal and looked around at all of my companions. Five and I were the only ones who looked the same, everyone else had suddenly gotten younger. They all wore their Umbrella Academy uniforms and looked just as they did in the last family portrait of all of them that once hung in the Hargreeves mansion.

The trauma and pain was still there, but the wear and tear had gone from their faces. They were youthful again, young and spritely while the world ended around us. Five and I exchanged glances, but he quickly returned his focus to the portal.

Just as the largest chunk of moon hit the planet, we were gone, leaving behind a destroyed world.


End file.
